Commercial Success
by The Draigg
Summary: When Velvet Scarlatina was asked to make a new commercial for Beacon Academy, it was like a dream come true for her. But, how far now will she go to make her ideal vision of a commercial? And what depths of insanity will she reach, over a kinda small and petty thing? (CANCELLED FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE)
1. Chapter 1

**_Commercial Success_**

Chapter 1: A Need To Update

 **Hello! I am Vifam—No, wait, that isn't right. I'm The Draigg! I'm not an obscure mech anime. If I was, that would raise a bunch of uncomfortable questions. Like, how can I write all this stuff? Or, how am I accessing the internet? Anyway, since I am a real person, those don't need to be asked. Instead, what we need to do is read this new story of mine! It's been a bit, but I can assure you, I'm still as sharp as ever. So, before we get started, let me just tell you the legal stuff. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, and I don't own anything I mention in here. Only the storyline. If I did own anything I mention in here… Well, you know the deal already. You've heard the same thing plenty of times. So, without further ado, I present to you,** ** _Commercial Success_** **! Let's feel that heat, baby!**

 **xxx**

 _(Zoom in on a still shot of the Beacon Academy campus, while inspirational synthesizer music plays constantly in the background. There are brightly colored, poorly animated geometric shapes bordering the view.)_

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world?"_

 _(Fade to a bunch of hunters/huntresses in training, wandering the halls of Beacon.)_

 _"_ _Have you ever wanted to meet people just like you?"_

 _(Cut to a bunch of spliced together interviews of Beacon Academy students.)_

 _"_ _I love it here!"_

 _"_ _I think I'm really making a difference!"_

 _(Sudden jump cut to Ozpin's desk in his office. The desk chair dramatically spins around… To reveal a slightly younger Professor Ozpin. With an AWFUL attempt at a mullet haircut.)_

 _"_ _We here at Beacon Academy take pride in training the next generation of young men and women. That's why we want you… To make a difference!"_

 _(Transition to a bunch of staged shots of students.)_

 _"_ _I'm here to make a difference!"_

 _"_ _I'm here to meet different people!"_

 _"_ _We're here to break down the walls of ignorance!"_

 _"_ _I'm here to make humanity proud!"_

 _(Cut back to Ozpin at his desk.)_

 _"_ _Register your application to Beacon Academy today! Find the forms at your local post office, school, or government office! And, to keep up with the latest in technology, you can now send in your application by fax!"_

 _(Quick cut to a fax machine with ugly graphics framing it, before cutting back to Ozpin, with the words "The future is now!" flashing below him.)_

 _"_ _Make a difference today!"_

 _(Final cut to the front of the Beacon Academy main building, with Beacon Academy's phone number and address at the bottom of the screen. All the previous students are standing together, ready to cheer.)_

 _"_ _Go Beacon, Go Beacon, Go!"_

 **xxx**

Professor Ozpin silently thanked whatever god that listened that the tape was now over. Even though he had already had his regular amounts of daily coffee, he could start to feel a headache forming. To him, that old commercial was nothing short than a pure embarrassment. He should have never hired that advertising firm all those years ago. And the fact that it was still airing on television was slowly killing him inside.

"So, you understand my position," Ozpin finally said to the other person in the room.

"Absolutely," unhesitatingly replied Professor Goodwitch. Man, she was glad that she wasn't asked to be in that commercial. To have to witness Ozpin's disastrous attempt at a different haircut immortalized on tape was already enough of a punishment. It was even worse than she remembered. And she'd seen that rat's nest in person before.

"This clearly doesn't reflect our latest image. What we need is something to help bring in newer, brighter minds," Ozpin said, turning off the monitor.

"So, we're going to make a new commercial?" Goodwitch rhetorically asked.

"Indeed," Ozpin firmly answered.

"Want me to get the number of that ad agency?" offered Goodwitch. All she got was a cold look form Ozpin in response. "…Point taken."

"I don't want to deal with those hacks—I mean, that mediocre agency again," Ozpin curtly said.

Professor Goodwitch hummed. "Any suggestions?"

Ozpin adjusted his glasses in contemplation. Then, as if it was the obvious answer, he said, "We'll do it in-house."

"In-house?"

"In-house."

 **xxx**

Velvet Scarlatina sighed as she fumbled with the keys to the Theater Club office. It was just another day in paradise to her. Not only did she need to put in more study time for her classes, but she was also starting to feel a little estranged form everyone. Even her teammates felt a little distant to her. Sure, they kept on inviting her to everything they did, but Velvet somehow found herself spending less and less time with them.

" _Maybe I should hang out with them more…_ " Velvet lazily thought as she inserted the right key into the doorknob and undid the lock.

Pushing in the door, Velvet didn't even notice that the lights were already on in the office. And she most certainly didn't notice the guest already sitting behind her desk. Her mind was somewhere else at the moment. It wasn't until she tossed her book bag on the desk that she noticed that she had a special visitor in her office.

Velvet's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed Ozpin sitting at her desk calmly.

"Eep!" she squeaked in shock, before reflexively diving behind her guest chair.

Almost immediately afterwards, she quickly stood up and brushed off her clothes. "Y-you surprised me, sir," Velvet offered in apology.

"I'm terribly sorry for that, Ms. Scarlatina," said Ozpin, tapping his fingers against the armrest of the desk chair. "Perhaps I should've waited outside."

"No, no, it's fine," Velvet brushed off, sitting in the guest chair. Then, after a quick beat, she asked, "Wait, how did you get in here if the door was locked?"

Ozpin simply picked up his mug and took a sip. His other hand made a dismissive gesture as he drank his favorite coffee. Putting his mug back down, he breezily said, "That's not very important."

Leaning forwards onto the desk, Ozpin began to answer the question that Velvet already had on her mind. "I'm here because I want to request your… assistance."

"A-assistance?" Velvet stammered. One of the most powerful men on the planet wanted HER help? What was going on?

"I must say, when you put on that music show a while ago, I was most impressed. Clearly, you've proven that you're able to make something that can reach people of all types, right?" Ozpin began to elaborate.

"W-well, it wasn't all my work—" Velvet began, before being cut off by Ozpin.

"And so modest, too. Truly, you're a great Theater Club president," Ozpin continued, clearly stroking Velvet's sense of ego.

Naturally, Velvet latched onto such a comment. Her rabbit ears perked up fully at such a nice thing to say. "W-why, thank you sir!" she beamed. In fact, the blush she was starting to form from that compliment was downright luminous.

"That's why I want you to work on a special project for me," Ozpin said, cutting to the chase.

"A project?" Velvet parroted.

"That's right," Ozpin nodded. "I want you to make a video for me. You've seen the commercial that Beacon Academy puts out for recruitment, right?"

Velvet gave a small nod.

"We want to update it to reflect our new image. Plus, some of the information in that commercial is severely outdated. We need to show the world that we are, in fact, on the cutting edge of technology and education. So, if I give you the budget, supplies, and guidelines, do you think that you can make a commercial for us?" offered Ozpin, leaning back into the desk chair.

Velvet was nearly speechless. To her, this was like… she couldn't even think of a proper metaphor, she was so excited. No words could do justice to what she was currently feeling. "I-I-I'm honored, sir!" she managed to squeak out.

"Very well. Ms. Scarlatina, can I trust you to make me a great commercial, one I can put on the air to thousands, if not millions?" challenged Ozpin.

In the back of his mind, Ozpin was slightly surprised that Velvet was this easy to manipulate. He was almost expecting to have her ask for a cash payment or something along those lines. Well, he figured that she was too caught up in the romance of making something great for the school to think about that. After all, given some of the letters and reports he'd received from her before, Velvet was really desperate to make her productions good and enjoyable.

"I won't let you down, sir!" Velvet declared, trying her best not to start bouncing up and down in her chair in excitement. And no, it wasn't because she was a rabbit Faunus. It would be incredibly racist to think such a thing.

"Now that's what I like to hear," Ozpin thinly smiled. Picking up his mug, he then stood up from the desk. "You'll have everything you need sent to you shortly. Expect everything before the end of the week."

"I swear, I'll do my best, Professor!" gushed Velvet. This was just so exciting for her! She was practically quaking in her shoes from the thrill of it all!

Ozpin broadened his grin at Velvet. "I know you will, Ms. Scarlatina. We're all expecting great things from you,". At that, Ozpin calmly strolled out of the small office, and down the hallway.

Velvet remained frozen in place, almost unable to even comprehend such an opportunity like this. It was incredible! It was amazing! It was… incredimazing!

Unable to control herself, a large squee began to build up from the bottom from Velvet's throat. "eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE **EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!** " she couldn't help but vocalize. Even though she didn't know it, dozens of other Faunus students in the general area began to feel a sudden pain starting at their ears, as if a high-grade dog whistle was being blown. It was a good thing that Velvet was riding the high of the hype train, otherwise she would have felt it as well.

Fortunately for everyone in the immediate vicinity, her lungs gave out their last stores of oxygen before her screech could start to break glass. However, Velvet felt like she needed to say something, ANYTHING to describe how she felt at that moment.

Clenching her fists up in victory, she began to rant to herself: "Wow! Unreal! My gosh! THIS IS AMAZING! I FEEL INCREDIBLEEEEEE! YES, YES, YES, YES! I CAN WIN! I FEEL GREAT! I CAN DO THIS! AUGGGHHHHHHHH!"

If anyone heard that completely stupid outburst, then thankfully they weren't around to voice their clear and obvious displeasure. It was a good thing that Velvet wasn't nailed for that, otherwise it would have distracted her, and ruined her good mood entirely.

Hopping merrily over to her desk, Velvet could hardly contain herself as she reached into her book bag and pulled out her scroll. Opening it to DustTube, she immediately began to search for all sorts of material to base a commercial on.

She watched all sorts of advertisements and PSA's. From mesothelioma lawyer ads (didn't a few students get that a few years ago?), to children's cereal commercials (one with a guest appearance from Pyrrha Nikos!), and even an anti-drug PSA where a kid claimed that he learned to roll a joint from watching his dad (for Velvet, it was harrowing stuff). Yes… now she knew what she needed to do.

Velvet needed to make something that was commercials incarnate. She needed to make something that would appeal to every demographic, every person across the board! This was going to be something that people would applaud at for its strength, and cry over how touching it could be! Velvet was going to direct the SHIT out of this commercial!

Commercial after commercial, video after video, Velvet's mind soared higher and higher. She had the major backing that she needed. She knew a bunch of talented people that would be willing to work for almost next to nothing, and most importantly, she could use this not only as a way to boost her own talents, but also get closer to her teammates. Truly, this project was like mana being dropped down from the heavens onto her!

With anxious fingers, Velvet then logged out of DustTube, and opened her contacts list on her scroll. Yes, yes, this was the roster that was needed. All of these people could help. They could act! They could sing! And they were already great friends, so they would do this without any major hesitation! They were going to help her make gold for the general populace! Before long, Velvet was trying to type out the perfect text message, to tell them of the wonderful opportunity that was handed to all of them.

So, to put all of the above into simpler words, Velvet was excited for this project. Very, very excited indeed.

 **xxx**

 **And I bet all of you are, too! Well, I'd hope so, anyway. After all, writing, and by extension art in general, can be very subjective. Hell, I've seen a lady pissing in a soup can be considered art. But, given that at least some of the stuff I write is moderately popular, I can only assume that all of you will like my latest comedy piece. So, enjoy it while it's hot! Oh, and be sure to say thanks to my good pal, Falcyon, for suggesting this title! I think it has a nice ring to it, personally.**

 **So, until next time, this is The Draigg, signing off for now!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Assembling The Perfect Crew

 **To my only desire… The beast of possibility… The symbol of hope… I wouldn't use any of that to describe me. I just think it sounds cool. And props to you if you think it's cool sounding too. Also, pencil in another mark for references made, if you're keeping count. I seriously doubt all of you guys have found them all. But, if you want to be the very best, like no-one ever was… then you should probably put that reference I just made on the score sheet. Next to the previous one. It's just like a game of bingo, except with no prize! Unless you count wasted time as a prize. Which you shouldn't. Anyway, let's just get to the story.**

 **xxx**

Friday was normally supposed to be a day to enjoy the fact that school was off for a few days. But, considering that weird nature of things in and involving Beacon Academy, that feeling was diminished for a certain group of people. If anything, the approaching weekend was a sign to Teams RWBY and JNPR that something was either going to get crazy, or absurd, or crazy absurd.

So, when they walked into the Beacon Academy Theater that afternoon, all of them were fully accustomed to being involved in some sort of weird event or plan. Which made them the PERFECT people for the job.

"So… You got the message too?" Ruby asked, immediately diving into one of the front-row seats of Beacon Theater.

"Yep… I mean, I we had nothing to do today, so we thought 'Why not?'," Jaune replied, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on his hoodie as he sat down.

The whole gang was there. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. In other words, the only people Velvet knew outside of her team that she considered friends.

"Well, this better had be important," Weiss grumbled, sitting next to Ruby. "I had things I wanted to do this evening,". Truth to be told, Weiss didn't really have much of anything to do that day. But, that was pretty much the beauty of it. All she was planning to do was spend her time trying to relax with Ruby, in an effort to try things Ruby's style. Plus, cuddling was something she was looking forward to as well. Her ironically planned relaxation was ruined, to be short.

Yang let off a snort at that statement. "Ha! What, planning on organizing your dresses by color?"

Blake and Ren paid no mind to the obvious joke, Nora and Jaune snickered slightly, Pyrrha jabbed her boyfriend with her elbow to get her to stop, and Ruby looked genuinely baffled.

"I thought you did that the other day?" Ruby asked earnestly. Nora snickered louder at that.

Weiss huffed and pouted, slightly reddening with embarrassment. It hit her pretty hard at how Yang was able to call her out on that, without even knowing she did that. That girl sure knew where to throw punches. "I… Err…" she trailed off at Ruby, before turning her attention to the giggling Yang. "Shut up, you blonde buffoon!"

"My my my, secrets are coming out today!" Yang laughed.

"Oh, are we playing the Secrets Game?" Nora piped up, excited.

"No, we're not, Nora," Ren flatly pointed out, completely uninterested in this tomfoolery. It was the afternoon, and he hadn't had his daily calming tea. Or rather, his fifth dose of daily calming tea. With the company he kept, he pretty much needed to drink that much relaxing tea water.

"Aww… I wanna hear secrets…" Nora disappointedly sighed, the air being let out of her proverbial balloon.

"Me too, ginger. Me too," Yang happily sighed, her laugher wound down. Now that was a good, small laugh. Just the right size for a quickie. No, not in that way. Minds don't belong in the gutter.

At that moment, Velvet walked into the theater. Just as she'd hoped she would see, all the people she had summoned were there. Excellent!

"Hello everyone!" the bunny girl greeted as she waved, walking towards the front of the stage. She had on her useless brainy-glasses, she had her script ideas, and she had her acting crew. She was READY to get started.

"I'm glad you guys could make it!" Velvet continued, adjusting her glasses by the bridge. Her intention was for the lenses to catch the light from the ceiling and briefly glow. Naturally, life isn't filled with anime clichés, so that gesture was entirely pointless.

Weiss, skipping the formalities, decided to cut right to the chase on behalf on everyone. "So, what do you have for us?"

Velvet, of course, took that comment in a completely different manner. "I can't believe you're so ready to get to work! Well, don't you worry, friend! I've got a WONDERFUL opportunity for us!"

"…Right. Well, mind telling us what it is?" Weiss replied, eyeing Velvet as she took her place in front of the assembled teams.

Taking a deep breath, Velvet proudly announced what here intentions were. "I've brought al of you here to make…"

" _Pause for dramatic effect…_ " Velvet thought in her mind.

"A commercial," she finally got around to saying.

There was a beat among the assembled team members. Velvet was absolutely enchanted. Everyone must have been so in awe of the gift all of them had been given!

"…You could've just emailed us that…" spoke up Yang.

"Yeah," Weiss bitterly agreed.

"Right," Ren also added.

Velvet awkwardly scratched her head. That… wasn't the real reaction that she had in mind. Well, that wouldn't stop her from keeping up the spirit!

"I-it'll be just like the old times! When we made the music show!" Velvet exclaimed.

"Someone fell from the rafters towards the end, remember?" Ren bluntly pointed out.

"…Aah," was all Velvet managed to squeak out.

"Yeah, but it was Cardin," Nora added. "Nobody all THAT important, right?"

There were murmurs among the other gathered hunters/huntresses in training. "She does have a point…" Ruby rather audibly whispered. Even Ren couldn't argue with his ginger-headed friend's argument. Only Pyrrha really showed some concern about it, and that was only because of long standing moral convictions. Be even she had to admit deep down inside herself that Cardin deserved to have his legs broken from that fall.

"Look, you guys, I'm really asking for your help here! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee—" Velvet started to drag out.

"We'd be glad to help, Velvs!" Ruby tried to say over Velvet's increasing pitch.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

"We said we'd help!" Blake yelled covering up her sensitive cat ears.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

"Please, stop! We'll help!" pleaded Pyrrha, also covering her ears.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

"WE SAID WE WOULD DO IT!" Weiss frustrated roared over Velvet's annoying screeching. That managed to get everything in the theater to shut up, up to and including the rats in the walls.

Velvet clasped her hands together, pleased. "Excellent!"

"Promise to never do that again," flatly requested Ren.

"Deal!" Velvet crisply replied, brushing aside the second-most annoying sound in the world she had just performed. "Now, I have here with me a few ideas for the shoot… If you could pass that around for everyone to look at, that would be great."

At that, Velvet took out a folded piece of notebook paper from her hip pocket and passed it to the nearest person. As Team RWBY got to look at it first, Velvet decided to keep on talking about her thoughts on the commercial shoot.

"So, what I want out of all of you is _passion_. _Drama_. I want you all to give your all on this project. I want you to melt that screen with your sheer acting talent!" Velvet hammily declared.

Just as soon as Velvet finished her ranting, Yang immediately raised her hand. "Yes?" Velvet asked.

Yang briefly checked over the list before getting to her question. "I, uh, noticed that you put down some stuff that, er, makes no sense. Mind explaining that?"

"What things in particular?" pressed Velvet.

"Like, what's 'BDR' supposed to mean?" drawled out Yang.

"Oh, glad you asked!" Velvet perked up. "We're gonna Break Down Racism! BDR!"

The room's confusion was palpable. There was a large mixture of confusion and… Well, just plain confusion, actually. It was the only real reaction to have at that… caliber of a statement.

Noticing this, Velvet decided to clear a few things up. "Okay, okay, I get it. This is a _radical new idea_. But, think about it! We can really touch the minds of all the impressionable people with such a message! Nobody will harass anyone, Faunus and races of men included! …Preferably Faunus…"

"…This is an ad for the school, right?" Jaune blurted out.

"Yes, it is. Weren't you listening?" Velvet answered back.

Blake couldn't help but scratch at the base of her cat ears under her bow. That whole spiel kinda didn't fit with a school advertisement. Like, at all. She would try to understand the leaps of logic that required Velvet to come up with an anti-racism message for academy commercial, but she knew she stood no chance at getting it at all.

"Uh… And how are we going to do that?" Blake couldn't help but ask.

"Easy! You're the person I had in mind!" Velvet gleefully pointed out.

"…Can I not do it?" requested Blake. She really didn't want to be all over television, considering that her old White Fang comrades might recognize her. She was more than willing to have a small part, not to be the focal point of something that will be broadcasted everywhere.

"Well, who else can we use…?" Velvet thought out loud. "Ren? No offense."

Ren narrowed his gaze. "Offense taken."

Velvet brushed off his comment as she continued to rattle out her thoughts. "Well, we could just use a set of animal ears from a costume shop…"

"That would make it even more racist," Jaune noted.

"Well, we either stick with a real Faunus person, or we find something as a replacement," Velvet sighed, having given up on that train of thought.

"Fine, fine!" Blake interrupted, annoyed. "I'll do it. Just don't make it too bad, okay?"

"Oh, yay!" Velvet exclaimed, her excitement rushing back through her veins. "Now we're cooking with gas!"

Everyone winced at that forcibly-delivered slang. Velvet either didn't notice or care.

"Now, if all of you could follow me, I have snacks in the club office for you all—" Velvet began to say, before being cut off by Ruby. A red blur zoomed out of the theater and down the hall, only leaving a small bunch of fluttering rose pedals where she sat.

With a weary sigh, Weiss got up out of her seat. Snatching the ideas list out of Yang's hands, she marched over to Jaune and tossed it into his lap. "You can read it on the way. We should probably catch up with Ruby before she eats everything with sugar in it."

Weiss' logic was irrefutable. There was no doubt that Ruby would eat pretty much everything that Velvet had in her office. And a Ruby on a massive sugar rush was something that nobody wanted to deal with.

Taking after Weiss' lead, the rest of the assembled group followed the Schnee girl out of the theater. As for Velvet, she couldn't help but walk with a slight spring in her step. This was all so exciting! This was even better than sex! Well, as far she knew. She didn't really know the exact feeling, and she doubted that her… utensils used in that stead were an accurate representation.

But, that was neither here nor there. What was the most important right now was that Velvet had the right people she needed to make the best damn piece of film ever. Oh, and stopping Ruby. That was probably important too.

Still, that didn't take away from Velvet's overwhelmingly positive feelings at all. She had the highest of intuitions that this was going to be great. And, once she explained everything to her team later, it could only possibly get even greater.

Right?

 **xxx**

 **Foreboding! Except not really. This is only the build-up to the good stuff, after all. Think of this chapter like the wrapper of a delicious candy treat. Now, you have to peel it back to get to the rich flavor inside. Well, unless you have a habit of eating wrappers. Don't worry, I won't judge you on that. But, I will judge you if you eat rappers. People probably shouldn't be eaten. So, let me know how it tasted and where to find a good price on human meat. Maybe in a review. Or, better yet, use the reviews section for something useful. Like leaving a review. Shocking, right? Anyways, I'll just leave you to it for now.**

 **This is The Draigg, and I'm signing off for now!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Grabbing Some CFVY

 **Continuing searching for my stolen past, I wander through an unfamiliar town. The scent of fire has stained onto me and is making me choke, despite the fact that I have already bid it goodbye. …Well, now that we've started out nice and dramatic sounding, allow me to ruin the mood by writing some comedy. When we left off, Velvet was one step closer to getting her dream in her grasp. Let's check in on her now, and see what kay-razzy shenanigans she and her friends are up to!**

 **xxx**

"What's in it for us?"

Coco posed that simple question after Velvet returned to Team CFVY's dorm room, and told them all about her wonderful plan to write and direct a school commercial. And, more specifically, where they all fit into that project. For some reason, her rabbit-eared friend was looking rather disheveled, as if she had just gotten back from some major altercation. Coco could tell in a few areas where Velvet's jacket was pulled at and nearly torn. But, since Velvet seemed to be ignoring that, she didn't bring it up. It must have been one hell of a fight she had gotten into.

"Yeah, did you even ask for anything when you took Ozpin up?" Fox added, reclining on his bed.

Velvet couldn't help but fidget with her fake glasses nervously. No, now that she had thought about it, she didn't ask for any type of payment, school or monetary wise. Looking back on it, she felt a little silly that she didn't ask to have something thrown in for her and the crew. Her sheer enthusiasm blew every other rational thought out of the water.

"I… um, y-you see… well, no. N-no I didn't," Velvet managed to stammer out.

Coco sighed as she walked up to Velvet. "Look, I know shit's exciting, but really, use your noggin next time, 'kay?"

"I-I just forgot, is all! I can still ask!" Velvet said in her own defense.

Fox sat up in his bed. "Yeah, but Ozpin might not give you as much now."

"This isn't all about _taking_ , Fox," Velvet said, a little upset at her friend's avarice. "It's also about creativity and seeing something wonderful brought into the world!"

"Yeah, see. I can't wait for that," Fox dryly retorted. He waved his hand in front of his milky white eyes for emphasis. Sure, he wasn't all that upset about people being innocently insensitive to his blindness, but damn, he milked it for all it was worth. It worked a fair amount of times. He got free donuts out of it before, after all. That was pretty cool.

An awkward gulp traveled down Velvet's throat. Damn, now she was the bad guy! She needed to convince her friends fast, before this could spiral out of control for her!

"C'mon, can't you guys help me out on this? Please?" the rabbit-girl pleaded.

"I had a question about the racism bit," Yatsuhashi, the Eastern giant sitting in the corner chair, asked.

"Again with the racism?" Velvet muttered under her breath. Then, louder she replied, "What is it, Yatsu?"

"Why does it seem like you're just looking at either Faunus people or Easterners? You said that Ren person was like me, so I'm a bit confused."

Velvet hissed under her breath at Yatsu's accusation. The way she had phrased everything made it sound like the only race of man she thought was being prejudiced were Easterners. And that also implied that she was racist against them too. But really, she wasn't! She had Easterner friends! …Okay, maybe that wasn't a good way to put it either. However, that's all she had really to work with. Nobody could blame her for that, right? Faunus and Easterners were the only different raced people around her!

"W-well, I didn't think of it like that…" explained Velvet. "But, I can g-get someone else if it upsets you! Like Fox! Hey, Fox!"

"Nope," Fox replied from his bed. From what he was told, he had dark skin, whatever that meant. Even though he wouldn't be able to see what Velvet was going on about, he still didn't want to be dragged into some weird racism thing. That pretty much went the same for everyone else, he imagined.

"Well, it's okay…" trailed off Velvet. After all, Blake had already agreed to the role. She was fine with the cast she had.

"Ya know, you haven't even told us what you want us to even do," Coco pointed out.

"…Film crew?" offered Velvet. As if it wasn't obvious by now, she hadn't exactly thought out the specifics of her grand master plan just yet. She was trying to recruit her team for a cause that barely, if at all existed yet.

"Then why didn't you say that to begin with and skip all that other crap?" Fox groaned, adjusting his seat on the bed.

All Velvet could offer in reply was a confused humming noise, and a shrug that Fox couldn't see.

Coco adjusted her beret and sighed. "Look, we'll do it. But seriously, get to Ozpin on a price. Nothing comes free, ya know."

"…Like extra credit, or what?" Velvet pondered.

"Hell if I know," Coco replied. "You're the one who agreed to it. You figure it out."

"I'll think of something…" Velvet muttered, before flopping onto her bed face first. Her face was buried in her soft, memory-foam pillow.

As Velvet didn't bother to get back up, the rest of Team CFVY settled back into what they were doing before. It was a perfectly normal night before Velvet's project talk, and they intended it to be a normal night after it.

That's what the plan was, and they wanted to stick to it.

 **xxx**

Meanwhile, in a different dorm room in the same building…

"THERE'S A DAAAAAY WHEN OUR HEARTS WILL BE BROKEN, WHEN A SHADOW WILL CAST OUT THE LIIIIIIIIGHT…!"

"Ruby, please would you just stop the singing already?!" Weiss demanded, covering her ears.

"AND OUR EYES WILL CRY A MILLION TEARS, HELLLLLP WON'T ARRRRRRRIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!"

Blake had had enough of Ruby's incessant singing. After somehow managing to struggle a sugar overdosed Ruby back to the dorm room after she ate all the snacks Velvet brought, the cloaked team leader had done nothing but sing songs from her scroll playlist loudly (and badly). It frayed everyone's edges very quickly.

So, it was almost a relief when Blake calmly walked up to Ruby's bed, where she was rolling around, and made a quick jab at a specific spot on her neck. Ruby went out quicker than a lit candle thrown into an ocean. Thank goodness.

"Was that really necessary?" Yang and Weiss questioned immediately, a bit miffed at the fact that Blake resorted to knocking Ruby out so quickly.

"It got the job done, didn't it?" tiredly retorted Blake. At that, she slumped onto her own bed and curled up on the blankets.

"Still…" Weiss muttered, her hands slightly clenching in anger.

Yang sat onto Blake's bed, next to her girlfriend. "Ya gotta calm the ninja stuff, okay? And that better not have hurt her…" she cautioned.

"Relax. She'll feel great when she wakes up," Blake dismissed.

"And how would you know?" questioned Weiss, an edge in her voice.

"Trust me. I do," was Blake's cryptic reply. Nobody pressed the issue any further than that. Not that they could, anyway. Team WBY was drained from wrangling R all the way back to here from the Theater Club office.

Weiss groaned to herself as she walked from her spot near the work desk over to the drink pile in the corner. Grabbing a can of coffee, she cracked it open and downed all of it in a few large gulps. She didn't care that she wasn't supposed to not have as much as she used to. She needed the buzz that the coffee gave her.

Tossing that empty can in the trash bin, Weiss grabbed another two. Tossing on to Yang, Weiss herself plopped down into the desk chair and opened her own coffee can. At least Yang showed as much concern as her about Ruby.

Yang glanced over the can. "I'm more of an Abomination type a gal," she said.

"Just take the can, Xiao Long," advised Weiss, before taking a swig of her coffee.

Shrugging lightly, Yang cracked open the can and took a sip. Eugh. Now she remembered why she was an energy drink kind of girl. She just didn't understand how Weiss could drink this bean water so strongly. Yang was on the same page as Ruby: coffee needed at least a dozen sugar packs and cream to make it taste good. But, at least Weiss' gesture was nice of her.

"So…" Yang said, hoping to start some conversation.

"What?" Blake moaned from the bed.

"What do ya think of this commercial thing?" Yang continued.

"Well…" Weiss began, before taking another sip of her drink. "I mean, I've always had a media presence. So, it isn't anything new to me."

"Of course…" Blake mumbled, turning onto her back. "I'm… Well, I'm not all that comfortable with it."

"Camera shy?" Yang asked.

Blake explained, "Not exactly…. I don't want people to know that I'm still out here. Dangerous people. You know what I mean."

"Ah…" Yang nodded, understanding what she meant. It really seemed like they couldn't escape the White Fang at all. Like that one thing with Sun and Neptune last week. It wasn't like they had a White Fang cell raid penciled in for that week.

The room grew quiet with Blake's implication. They all knew that if push came to shove, they could fight off the White Fang if they decided to come after them. But, like what any good warrior understands, they would rather not have to fight at all. Thing were much easier that way.

"Well… Don't worry, kitty cat," Yang cooed, stroking some of Blake's bangs. "I'm sure it'll be okay."

Blake pressed her tongue into her cheek. At least the sentiment was nice, even if it didn't match reality. "Sure," was her bland response.

"Maybe I can coach you on it," Weiss offered.

"Maybe," the cat girl parroted back.

"I'll drink to that idea," Yang said, before chugging down the coffee. The sooner the stuff was gone the better. Might was well sound supportive while doing it.

"It isn't as hard as you think," elaborated Weiss. "Once you have the image down in your head, it gets easier to do."

"You've been in commercials before, right?" Yang asked.

"Well… when I was younger, yes. But, after a while, it turned into public presentations. At parties and fundraisers and what have you," Weiss explained further.

"How were those?" Yang asked, now curious.

"Tiring," Weiss admitted. Quickly finishing her coffee, she placed the empty can on the desk before continuing. "I had to act like the good little girl people wanted me to be all the time. Like wearing a mask…"

Weiss looked down, a somber gaze in her eyes. Picking her head back up, she continued. "But, now I feel like I can do it naturally. It's like turning off and on a switch. It's just something you learn, I suppose."

"Doesn't sound all that good to me…" Yang thought out loud.

"Not everything you learn is good initially," added Blake.

"That's right," Weiss agreed. "But, it can be used in something useful. If anything, it just depends on how you use it."

"Just like anything else, I guess," Yang mused.

"True," noted Blake.

Yang stretched and yawned loudly. It was time to lighten the mood. "Man! Look at all us, gettin' deep and shit. I guess all those books aren't for show, 'ey Blakey?"

Blake smirked. "I guess not. Maybe you should read some to find out."

"Do they have naked people in them?" Yang posed.

"…I can't directly answer that," Blake quickly said, before slightly blushing. Everyone in Team RWBY knew that the answer was, of course, yes. Still, it wasn't something that you discussed out loud. Well, except for Yang. But she was in a category of her own. Still, three-fourths of a team wasn't that bad of an amount.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You two…". Still, it was nice to get back to some regular banter after that… conversation. It stirred up some uncomfortable feelings in Weiss' stomach. So, at least that was a nice distraction.

Turning around in her chair, Weiss picked up the remote to the small television on the desktop and turned on the TV. It was a Friday. She could take a break from studying, if only for an evening. Plus, there was a movie she was looking forward to seeing on the LifePrime Network. It was the premier of _Miharu Ratokie: Spy for Love_. Sure, it was complete schlock, but Weiss still had a thing for movies with romance in them. So, it was worth watching for her.

All they could have asked for was a normal night to close out Friday, like Team CFVY. And like their counterparts, they got it as well. It only made sense for the people bound by similar circumstances to want the same.

And they most certainly got it.

 **xxx**

 **Upon seeing what hell is like, my heart dries up. I've grown weary of fighting. If it is my fate, I will make up my mind, so please cut me some slack for now. Surely there will be a tomorrow, aah, after today. Well, it's only appropriate to close out this chapter with how it opened. So, I hope you like it all! That's all any author can hope for. So, before I leave, be sure to leave a review and tell me how much you enjoyed this story so far, or how much you hate it and my guts. Or both. It might be hard to pull of both, but yet again, tsunderes do exist. So, it's a possibility.**

 **Anyways, this has been The Draigg, and I'm signing off for now!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Theater Of The Bizarre… Script

 **Flash! Into the rolling morning! Crash! I'm in the coolest driver's high! Well, now that I think I've gotten you suitable pumped up and ready to go, I bet you're eager to read this chapter right now, aren't you? I don't need to know what your response is. If you're reading this, then that already means you were expecting to enjoy it. Yay for self-fulfilling prophecies! Gotta love ironic fates. Except the sad ones. Unless they don't happen to you, of course. Then you're free to laugh and act like a petty dick. But, enough of my lecturing you young whippersnappers, let's get to the juicy bits already! …No, not those juicy bits. You pervs.**

 **xxx**

Saturday!

Fun! Excitement! Things to do!

Well, at least two of those items were accurate to our group of heroes. There were certainly things to do, and Velvet was excited enough for the entire cast and crew.

In fact, right then Velvet was enthusiastically chatting on her scroll with someone, while Teams RWBY and JNPR filed into the Beacon Academy Theater. It was at least midnight when all of them got texts to meet for a script read in the theater. So, according to Velvet's wishes, they showed up promptly at ten o'clock.

Or, in other words, too damn early for a Saturday.

"Oh, that's most excellent!" Velvet squeed into her speaker. "And when they come, do you think I can talk to you about something!"

Noticing her compatriots arriving in the room, Velvet silently waved at them, and gestured to come up to the head of the stage near her. Then, she turned her attention to the call at hand.

"I think it's amazing you can always find time to talk to your students, sir," Velvet continued to gush. "And don't worry, it isn't all that much. …Right, I understand. …N-no, no! I'll hang up. I know you're pretty bust and- …Okay. I'll see you on Monday then!"

Closing her scroll, Velvet turned her full attention to Teams RWBY and JNPR, who had all decided to sit together in one large clump. "Hello everyone!"

"Hello!" Pyrrha immediately replied, with her usual smile and hand wave.

"Hey."

"Mornin'."

"Good morning!"

Various other greetings were either mumbled out or groaned by the rest of the assembled crew. Even Nora. She didn't even get a chance to finish her third serving of syrup-covered pancakes. It only stood to reason she was a little out of it too. But only slightly. Nora was still… Nora, after all.

"So, I have great news!" the rabbit-girl announced. "We're gonna get our equipment on Monday! Yay!". At that news, Velvet waved around her arms in an odd fashion in pure celebration. It was sort of reminiscent of those wacky inflatable tube-men that you see out of third-rate car dealerships. But, between the twinkle in her eye and her weird dance, it was more endearing than anything.

Upon receiving no responses, Velvet tried again. "C'mon! Yayyyy!"

"Yay!" came the group's responses, of varying levels of interest.

"Now that's more like it!" complimented Velvet.

Weiss, not having nearly the time nor the patience of all this posturing, decided to immediately cut to the chase. "Didn't you say that you had a script or something typed out?"

Velvet wagged her finger at the Schnee heiress in response. "Hush! I wasn't done with the good news yet!"

Naturally, being talked to like that visibly infuriated the already groggy and annoyed Weiss. In fact, her face was already red and her cheeks were puffed in anger. But, before she could release her normal barrage of insults and put-downs, she was cut off by Velvet starting to talk more about her project.

"I'm also going to talk to Ozpin on Monday! I'm going to see if I can get a little something extra, just for all of you!" Velvet explained further.

Now that calmed Weiss down significantly. If Velvet was talking to Ozpin about something for them, then that could mean a variety of good things. Like a few extra school and team credits! Or not having to take a test in one of her classes! This was a gateway for success to her!

Weiss started to clap with all the energy reserves she had left over from this morning. "I knew you could do it, Velvet! I knew it!"

Yang arched an eyebrow. "Oh, what's with the sudden change in attitude? Did the ice queen melt?" she snarked.

"Shut up, you!" Weiss hissed under her breath at Yang. Turning back to Velvet, she then said, "How can we start?"

"Well, first I'm going to assign you your positions…" Velvet replied, turning her back to the assembly. Grabbing a stack of scripts off of the stage, she then handed it to the group. "Okay, I have in mind a few things. Everyone take one, and I'll explain."

Nodding, Ruby took the stack in hand. As she grabbed one and passed the papers around, that gave Velvet to put on her thinking glasses. Adjusting the glasses by the bridge, she began to elaborate on everyone's new production roles.

"First of all, I'm going to need an assistant. Jaune, since you're a part of the club, that's gonna be you," she began.

"Alright," Jaune agreed passively.

"Nora, Ren, Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha. You're going to be our stars."

"Yay!"

"Sure."

"Of course!"

"I'll do it!"

Velvet nodded in approval. "And Ruby and Yang. You're going to be part of the set-up."

"What's that?" Ruby inquired.

"Food, tables, chairs, maybe some set work. Pretty much anything that I don't already have covered," said Velvet.

"Uh, Velvet? What about the film crew? That's a pretty big chunk to leave out," pointed out Yang.

Velvet smirked as she adjusted her glasses by the nose again. She was trying (and failing) at getting the scheming reflective look on her lenses. "Trust me. I have that covered. By Monday, at least."

"You're bringing on more people?" Yang asked. She got a nod from Velvet in response. Yang gave a small shrug. "Okay, cool."

Clasping together her hands, Velvet grinned. Everything was falling into place flawlessly. Hell, she would probably be done making the greatest commercial ever before she knew it. Rubbing her hands together, she asked, "Great! Any questions?"

Jaune immediately raised his hand. Velvet nodded at him to start talking. A bit confusedly, he asked, "So, uh, who's the film crew?"

"My team," Velvet replied, without missing a beat.

That made Jaune raise an eyebrow. "…Do they even know how to work a camera?"

"It can't be that hard, right? Just push a button and boom! It's there. …L-look, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?" Velvet stammered, realizing the slightly skeptical look in Jaune's eyes.

"Yeah, I guess…" Jaune sighed. With an unseen roll of his eyes, he went back to reading his copy of the script.

Velvet picked up her own copy of the script and quickly flipped through to a few pages in. If she wanted to make THE premier commercial (that would solve all racism), then there wasn't a scant moment to waste. So, she felt that at least a few lines needed to be heard from her actors today. There wasn't a moment to spare! …In her mind, anyway.

"So, who wants to go first?" Velvet chirped.

"Isn't it a bit early for that?" immediately pointed out Weiss.

Velvet clicked her tongue. "Well, if we want to do this right, we should start night now!". She then cocked her hips to the side in a prissy manner.

Weiss felt a buzz of irritation in the back of her mind. Although she didn't realize it, it was because those exact actions reminded her a bit of herself. Eugh, that feeling… It wasn't great. It was like a dull headache. Or drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth.

"I'm with Weiss. I think we need to study our scripts first," added in Pyrrha.

Now Velvet had no room to move. Pyrrha was her big draw! Her ace in the hole! She was a big celebrity, even bigger than Weiss! Her face was everywhere, after all. From cereal to chaffing irritation cream, everyone knew Pyrrha. So, Velvet couldn't just say no to her. She didn't want to screw over the star power this commercial could have. Otherwise, it would be no better than a local used car dealership ad. And she'd seen those awful ads for Greek Candlestring's Totally Legit Autos. Or whatever new name that guy was using. It seemed to change with every commercial.

"…Fine. _But_ I want you to be ready the next time we meet," caved in Velvet. Saying that stung, but it was really the best way to placate her main star.

All Velvet got back from the group were a few mumbled "Uh-huh" and "Yeah" responses. After that, all that was left was silence, and the occasional rustling of turning script pages. It was so quiet, you could almost hear a pin drop. Metaphorically, of course. The carpeted floor would naturally work against that. Also, nobody in the modern age carried pins with them for little to no reason. But, at least that metaphor still worked.

 **xxx**

Naturally, as silent reading can't be best expressed in writing form, it's honestly best to skip ahead to where something actually happened. For some reason, it took a surprisingly long time for anyone to go over the script slightly in depth. Maybe that was due to Velvet's bizarre notes left in, like " _The passion is the flame of the actor_ ," or " _Mother knows best, and mothers are women. Therefore, Pyrrha is shown to know the most here, as she is a woman (most likely)_ ". And those aren't even close to " _Blake merely dreamed that she was surrounded by racists. Now the bigger woman is awake_ ". It was like she had a severe head wound while writing the script.

But who was one to really argue with the mystic sorcery that's called the writing process?

Anyway, the story will now resume at a point where something actually happened. In this case, it's where everyone decides to leave. A few hours later. A few confusing, roughly coherent hours later.

 **xxx**

Velvet walked with her head held high as she left the theater. As for her friends lagging behind her quite a distance, no so much.

"…Did any of you get that?" Ruby whispered under her breath to her team.

"No, no," Weiss replied, still completely baffled. It was almost as bad as reading Blake's fan fiction. Almost.

"Is Velvet high? I bet she's high," Yang replied, a little louder than the others would have liked. Blake swiftly clamped her hand over her girlfriend's mouth. In retaliation, Yang waste no time in liking Blake's hand.

"Euugh!" Blake cringed, wiping her hand on her pants. Her hand was now stained slightly blue, from the gum Yang was chewing before she walked into the theater. Thanks a lot, blue dye that stayed on a tongue.

Yang briefly snickered at Blake's plight, before getting a light punch on the shoulder by Weiss. "Do you have some kind of disorder?" Weiss rhetorically insulted.

"I'm sorry. My awesomeness is a disease. A sexy, funny disease. Right Blakey-pooh?" Yang replied in a cocky/sickeningly sweet voice, the last part directed at Blake.

"I swear, you're just a toddler in a D-cup,,," the cat-girl tiredly groaned.

Yang has to struggle with her own consciousness not to make a pedophile joke. Really, that wouldn't help her already confused and slightly-sore team feel better. Seriously, what were those theater seats stuffed with? Ball bearings and jigsaw puzzle pieces?

So, Yang switched her jovial tone with an appropriately tired one. "Geez, it felt like we were in there foreverrrrrrrrr…" she drawled out.

"You aren't kidding," Blake agreed. "It's like my life was slipping away."

"Well, at least ya got nine of 'em," Yang remarked. That got her a light shoulder punch from Blake this time.

"I don't see…" Weiss began, before stopping to see if Velvet and Team JNPR were gone from view already. Once they went their separate ways, she continued with, "I don't see why we have to help people with their projects again. I think we deserve a break."

"Because it's the right thing to do," Ruby offered earnestly.

"Yeah, snow princess. We gotta help out our pals," Yang also said.

Weiss huffed a little. "Think about it! Hasn't every show we've been in had its share of problems?" she observed.

After some thought, the rest of the team did have to admit that she did have a point. The music show, although it went over great, still had a lot of hurdles to jump over. Not to mention an injury happening on set, even though it wasn't their fault. Or, that whole 'dust public awareness' campaign later, which ended with a bunch of mental turmoil for everyone on the team, and Weiss' (thankfully) failed suicide attempt. So yeah, Team RWBY didn't exactly have the best run with appearing in media.

"Yeah…" Ruby agreed, scratching the back of her head. She didn't want to go through that fear of seeing Weiss like that again. It was almost too hurtful to think about.

"Well, we can't back out now," Blake pointed out, "We already agreed to it."

Weiss audibly sighed. "Damn… yeah…" she groaned. Sometimes, she hated the sense of honor that everyone at Beacon (including herself) generally had. If only it was so east to say "Fuck this" and leave on an extended vacation. But no, now she felt bad about thinking negatively. Honor could be a bitch sometimes. "So… I guess we have to…"

"Yep!" Ruby cheered, before patting Weiss on the back. "We're gonna rock it!"

"Yay," Weiss cynically replied. At that, she just flat out gave up on complaining to them. It wasn't like it was going to accomplish anything.

So, Team RWBY continued down the hallway, back to their room to enjoy the day.

If only they, or anybody else in the group knew how right it would have been to just ditch the project at that moment. In hindsight, nobody would blame them for doing so.

But, they had decided to play the hand they had. All they could do was think that it was the best they got.

 **xxx**

 **Foreshadowing! Oh, who am I kidding? At this point, you could probably figure that things are going to go hilariously bad. But hey, that's what drew you here in the first place, isn't it? You knew what you were signing up for. Regardless of that though, I hope you're willing to keep on reading. I bet you are! But, I think I should stop here for now. Take a break or two. Eat a Calorie-Mate and a snake.**

 **This has been The Draigg, and I'm still in a dream, Draigg eater!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Embracing The Inevitable

 **Hey there, it is I, The Draigg again. Now, considering that this is the first chapter in a new batch of chapters, I figure that I can answer some questions or opinions that a few readers have sent to me. Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's just to clear a few things off. First of all, yes, this story falls into my mainline Draiggverse stories. Check out my profile info for which stories are, and which ones aren't. Next, in response to some criticism, I don't think my usual author's notes are a bad thing. If anything, it's all part of the meta-story. You'll know what I mean by that if you read the climactic chapters of Team RWBY Gives Back To The Kids. Plus, it's kinda fun writing these things. So, now with that tidbit of information out of the way, let's get to what you really came here for: the story.**

 **xxx**

Addiction was a really funny beast.

Not a sort of "ha-ha" type of funny, though. More of the "Seeing an anatomically correct snowman of a creature of Grimm" type of funny. Or in other words, odd.

Back to the point, addiction really did rear up at the most inconvenient and strange times. Like Sunday, for example. Weiss couldn't help but chug down several cans of coffee from the drink pile as she tried to practice the lines from the script. Yet again, it was probably the script material that was driving her to start up her old habit.

It was a real shame, too. Weiss had her issue really under control by then.

Taking a swig of her latest coffee, Weiss projected her line to the dorm room. "When I first started at Beacon, I was a filthy racist. But now, my best friends are Faunus people!"

Nobody on Team RWBY had a comment on that horrible line. Weiss' brow furrowed as she scanned over the line once again.

"…This is slander, right? This is just slander against me," flatly commented Weiss.

"No," Blake tiredly spoke up. "If it's written, it's libel,". Weiss took that news with another swig from her coffee can.

"Maybe you should try a different line?" Ruby piped up, trying to change the dour mood.

"Ruby, ALL of my lines are about racism," Weiss growled, angrily crushing the aluminum coffee can in her fist. She didn't even care that she had gotten coffee all over her hand and onto the carpeting.

Ruby couldn't really argue against that. For some reason, Velvet had written a good chunk of the commercial as a message against racism. Not that it wasn't noble to try and make a stand against something as deplorable as that, but it really did seem like advertising Beacon Academy was more of a secondary goal of this commercial. Yet again, Velvet didn't exactly have the best track record at writing scripts, so none of this should have been a surprise. Kind of how Ruby was disappointed that Weiss fell of the wagon, but also wasn't shocked at all.

"Ahhh…" grunted Ruby. Scratching her head, she tried to think of something else to practice. "Oh, what about practicing the hug?" she suggested.

Both Weiss and Blake rolled their eyes. Why did a hug need to be in the commercial? Wasn't the idea to make an actually good ad? A hug would just seem cheesy. But, it was in the script, so they didn't really have much of a choice in what to do.

Getting up from her spot on the bed, Blake slowly walked over to the desk, where Weiss was sitting. It was if she was trying to drag out the time where she didn't have to do something that dumb.

It took Blake at least a full two minutes to walk over to Weiss, who begrudgingly stood up. The heiress began to walk forward, as if to meet Blake on her own path. …And then walked right past her, over to the drink pile. Grabbing another coffee, she cracked open the can and chugged down half of it. Pausing for a gulp of breath, she then went back to consuming her bitter drink. Without looking, Weiss dumped the can into the trash bin. Suppressing a burp, Weiss said, "Alright, let's get this over with…"

Blake turned around and opened her arms. Hesitantly, Weiss stiffly wrapped her arms around her Faunus teammate. The two of them went in for a rather distant hug, with at least an inch or two still separating them.

Ruby pouted a little at what she saw. "C'mon, hug her like you mean it!" she encouraged. She hugged her own shoulders for emphasis.

Weiss huffed. This was embarrassing for her. And, from what she could tell, the same went for Blake. Neither of them wanted to do this. How had their lives lead to this moment? Where the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and an ex-White Fang terrorist had to practice hugging each other? Frankly, this whole scenario was awkward and bizarre.

"Really?" Blake muttered under her breath.

"Really," replied Ruby, having heard Blake.

Blake shifted a little closer to Weiss, closing the distance slightly between them. Now they were pretty close, almost like a natural hug. The blush on Blake and Weiss' faces was growing and growing by the second.

"Kiss heeeerrrrrrr!" Yang catcalled from her bunk. That made Weiss immediately shove Blake away and take a few steps back.

"No! No, Yang! No!" Weiss furiously exclaimed.

"Aww, c'mon Yang… It was working…" complained Ruby.

"Eh, you know it would be hot," waved away Yang.

Blake couldn't exactly disagree with that. But still, she had to disagree with her girlfriend on sheer principle. Weiss was Ruby's girlfriend, after all. Plus, she knew that Yang was in her "All talk and no game" mode. It was just her terrible idea of a joke.

"Can we please just get this over with?" Blake pleaded. Turning to Yang, she added, "Without the comments?"

"Fine, fine," Yang said. She made a zipping motion across her lips.

"Thank you," Weiss sneered at the blonde. Turning back to Blake, Weiss opened her arms to try and hug her again.

Blake briefly looked at Yang, to see if she was up to any funny business. All she saw was Yang perched on her bunk, watching the two with some measure of interest. Well, that couldn't have been a good sign. But, Blake still had to go for it anyway. Hooking her arms around Weiss, Blake pulled in the heiress for a rough embrace.

This time, they immediately went for the closer distance they had reached the last time around. At least the hug was softer this time around. Now that she was in the groove of it, Weiss had time to notice how Blake acted up close. Blake could be a soft hugger, if she chose to. And now that her face was past Blake's shoulder, Weiss could smell Blake a little more. She smelled faintly of sport deodorant and what Weiss guessed was violet. Blake must have used some pretty good soap.

Blake, meanwhile, was doing almost the same thing. Since she was a Faunus, her enhanced sense of smell was picking up Weiss' scent much more. To Blake, Weiss almost reeked of vanilla lotion, coconut hair cream, and, not surprisingly, Ruby. The scent of Ruby was unmistakable. The cloaked girl pretty much sweated liquid sugar. Overall, Weiss' scent was very interesting. Very, very interesting.

"That's it! That's perfect!" cheered on Ruby. She was gleefully clasping her hands at the prolonged embrace between one of her closest friends and her girlfriend.

Naturally, that was the cue for Yang to make a comment. "…I think I thought of the _cutest_ couple name for you two," she said, a large shit-eating grin across her face.

That made Weiss pull away and face Yang. "God. DAMN IT! God damn you, Yang Xiao Long!" she loudly swore. Weiss stomped at the floor like an angry, petulant child. If she paid attention to her actions, she would have noticed that this was rather old behavior of hers, from the days back at the Schnee Estate.

Yang chuckled as she kept on going. "I... Hehe… I think Monochrome is a great-HA! Great couple name!"

"Okay, that's it!" Blake declared firmly, before marching over to where Yang lie.

Before Yang could react, Blake rapidly poked her girlfriend in several spots across her back. In less than a second, Yang collapsed face first onto her bed, just as an unconscious person should. Or, to put it in much cruder terms (as Yang would do, if she was still conscious), she slumped over like a sack of dicks.

"Uhh, you sure if that was the right thing to do?" Ruby pointed out.

"Relax. It's not like she isn't used to it already," Blake replied, missing the various glaring issues that come with knocking people out.

"How many times is it now?" asked Ruby. Blake simply shrugged. She had personally lost count of all the times she had to hit her girlfriend's pressure points to get her to stop.

"Does it matter?" Weiss rhetorically asked, grabbing another can of coffee and sitting in the desk chair. "I mean, all the other times she's woken up fine."

"But still…" Ruby trailed off, worried. "…Shouldn't we do something for her?"

"Right," Blake agreed, before walking into the bathroom. Weiss and Ruby heard the sink run for a minute. Blake walked back out, carrying a damp towel.

Striding over to Yang, Blake flipped her over, face up. Yep, she was still unconscious. Without a second thought, Blake placed the damp towel on her girlfriend's forehead and walked back to where she stood before.

"What's that supposed to do?" Ruby cried, absolutely baffled.

"Probably make her feel better," Blake replied coolly. She gave a small shrug. "It's something, at least."

Ruby staggered over to Weiss' bunk to sit down. "Aw, geez…" she moaned, rubbing her eyes. How had this Sunday gotten so bad? Weiss had fallen off the wagon with her coffee, and now her sister was knocked out once again. Ruby knew she should be more used to this type of stuff, but darn, it was still worrying and annoying.

"I think practice is done for now," announced Ruby, lying down on the bunk.

With a heavy sigh, Blake nodded and sat down on her bunk. Weiss continued to sip at her coffee. It was absurd how she was blazing through all through those cans. Yet again, with what had happened within the last hour or so, it was hard to blame her. She needed some escape from the pain, no matter what form it was in. At this rate, Weiss was going to get caffeine poisoning. If she didn't have such an immunity to it already, it was certain that she would have by now.

"Damn this day…" Weiss groaned into her can.

"Agreed," Blake said from her bed.

"Yeah, right…" Ruby replied, before covering her face with a soft pillow. Maybe the goose down could block out the mean and nasty parts of life for her.

Finishing off her latest can, Weiss stood up and tossed it onto the trash. Immediately afterwards, she turned on her heel and marched straight into the bathroom. After all, drinking coffee is going to make someone piss like a fire hose, no matter how much they were used to drinking.

Once the door closed behind Weiss, Ruby sluggishly sat up on the bed. Placing the pillow in her lap, Ruby hunched over it dejectedly. She just had a thought that went against her normal can-do attitude. And, even more worrying, Ruby was wondering if it held true, even in the slightest. "Hey… Blake? Mind if I ask ya something?" she began slowly.

"Sure," Blake sighed in response.

"…Do you regret doing all this? Like, all this show stuff?" posed Ruby.

A brief silence filled the room, as Blake searched for an answer. She was torn between the idealistic response, and the truthful, more cynical answer.

"…Slightly," Blake settled on. That was a good, honest answer. At least it didn't sound too bad.

"Me too…" Ruby swiftly admitted, her head hung down. "It… It sometimes gets to me, ya know? It can be really hard…"

"I won't argue with that," Blake agreed. She fully looked at Ruby. "But, I guess we do these things for a reason, right?"

"Yeah… Our friends need us, right?" Ruby said, picking her head back up. "But still… I'm getting kinda tired."

"All of us are, Ruby. That's why we have you to remind us of why we do what we do. To remind us that we're better than we are. Otherwise, we would have quit a long time ago," explained Blake.

Ruby couldn't help but smile at Blake's kind words. It was really touching to hear someone as drab as Blake come out and say that. "Really?" she asked.

"Really," Blake said with a soft smile. "You're great at being an optimist."

"And you're the best pessimist!" Ruby blurted out happily, before covering her mouth at what she just said. "Ooop! Sorry!" was her muffled apology.

Blake perked up at Ruby's gaffe. "No, no, it's fine. It's just a role to play, I guess. The pessimistic optimist. Heh. How ironic," she smirked.

Ruby loosened up at the sight of Blake's upturned smirk. "Yeah, I guess it is," she half-chuckled, scratching the back of her head. Getting a little more serious, she then asked, "Hey, uh, Blake? Can you not tell Weiss about this? I don't want her to fully doubt doing the show."

"I won't say a thing," Blake replied, nodding.

Ruby exaggerated wiping sweat from her forehead. "Whew, thanks!"

"It's no problem, really," Blake smoothly replied.

"Oh, and one more thing…" added Ruby, now that she thought about it. "Mind helping me with the coffee?" she asked in a lower voice. Ruby jerked her head to the bathroom door, referring to the girl currently inside.

"Right," mouthed Blake silently. Creeping over to the window, she made sure to open it slowly, as to not make any noise.

Following Blake's lead, Ruby got off the bunk and tip-toed her way over to the drink pile. Hefting the skid of coffee cans up, she then made her way over to the open window. With one swift motion, Ruby tossed the cans out of the window, and onto the ground below. She thought she heard a voice that sounded like Cardin Winchester cry out, "OH GOD", be she didn't pay it any mind. It was probably some weird bird squawking.

"That takes care of that issue," Ruby thought aloud, whispering. Blake nodded in agreement.

Settling back into their places, Ruby and Blake went upon their normal business. For Blake, reading, and for Ruby, playing a game on her scroll.

It's odd to think that something good can come out of a crap experience. At least now Ruby knew that she was the heart of the team, and not just its appointed leader. After all, it was the idea of hope that kept things going, no matter what. Plus, a she also got a chance to freely toss out that darn coffee, so that was also a plus. Any more of that coffee, and Weiss would kill herself with that bean juice.

So, with hope in her heart and comfort in her mind, Ruby began to look forward to tomorrow. Maybe things would go great. It was just a matter of patience, a matter of waiting and seeing.

Hope was worth it that much, at least.

 **xxx**

 **Morals! Everyone loves them. And hey, just because they're in stories as schlocky as this one, doesn't mean they aren't true. After all, comedy is a good way to get morals through to people. It work for a lot of different works, so it should be able to work here. I just hope I don't cross into Broken Aesop territory at some point. But, I doubt I will. I have faith in my writing skills. Anyway, be sure to leave me some feedback! I love getting stuff from you guys.**

 **This is The Draigg, and I'm signing out for now!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Setting Up For Failure

 **Hello, The Draigg residence, The Draigg of the house speaking.**

 **Props to whoever gets that reference. Also, thanks to a great fan, Kenseilon, for suggesting to use that as an introduction. I'll always put in a good word for someone who makes obscure television references. Plus, I couldn't think of any old mech anime ones to make that would fit. It's hard enough to keep up appearances already. Anyway, let's just cut this one intro a little short, and let's get to the story!**

 **xxx**

"…So, uhh, while you're on the line, d-do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What, Ms. Scarlatina?"

"Well P-professor, my friends wanted some kind of re-reward for working on this project… So, is there anything you can give them?"

There was a short beat on the other end of Velvet's scroll call. "I'll see to it that you and your friends are suitably paid for their service. Expect them to receive a sum of lien in their school accounts," was Ozpin's reply through the scroll's speaker.

"Wow, really?!" exclaimed Velvet, much to her surprise. People getting actually paid for their work in a commercial? This was getting more and more like a legitimate production by the minute!

"Notify them that it will cover some school expenses," Ozpin explained.

"I-I will, sir!" Velvet beamed.

"Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Best of luck," Ozpin hurriedly said, before hanging up on the call. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he wasn't really doing anything, but Velvet either didn't notice it, or care. This had just put fuel back into her proverbial gas-tank! Payment for services rendered was just the cherry on the top of the orgasm-flavored ultra-cake.

Velvet sighed contentedly as she put her scroll back into her pocket. At this rate, she would need a cigarette, even though she never smoked. Currently, her teammates were picking up the necessary camera and sound equipment, and her posse of actors was due there in the theater any minute now.

Ah, speak of the Iblis!

One by one, Teams RWBY and JNPR filed through the theater doors. For some reason, it looked like everyone except for Ruby was giving Weiss some space. In fact, it appeared that the heiress was being downright avoided. And… was Weiss wearing a pair of sunglasses indoors?

Velvet pushed away that internal doubt as she greeted her lovely little troupe. "Hello! I'm so glad you could make it!"

That got a small variety of "Yeahs" and "Yeses". Except for Weiss, who bitterly grunted. Sheesh, what was her deal today?

Regardless, Velvet decided to continue on. "So, uh, the equipment is on the way… So, we're going to be shooting Weiss' part first, as soon as the stuff gets here,". Velvet clasped her hands. "Let's set everything up, team!"

At that, everyone decided to fall into their roles. Yang and Jaune left to grab the backdrops on the side of the backstage to use, Ruby quickly sped off to grab snacks for everyone, and the rest of the actors (excluding Weiss) simply sat in the theater seats, waiting for their turn to be filmed. Weiss, however, walked directly up to Velvet.

"Hey, Velvet. Think we can cut this shoot early today?" the heiress asked through gritted teeth.

Velvet tilted her head in confusion. "What for?"

In response, Weiss tilted down her sunglasses, revealing her heavily bloodshot eyes. If one didn't know her well, then they would think that she had smoked a large amount of pot, instead of drunk a staggering amount of coffee yesterday. "I haven't had a good day today. _Obviously_. So, let's just your little show out of the way quick, alright?" she spat.

Velvet gulped nervously. Weiss getting in her face and demanding something that was, frankly, unlikely at best was rattling her nerves. She felt like a small rabbit staring at a huge grenade, waiting for it to go off. "W-w-well… Y-you need to t-take th-those glasses off…" she whimpered.

"How about you put glasses ON?!" Weiss snapped at the rabbit girl. Sure, it was a stupid comeback, but the pure venom in Weiss' voice still made it menacing.

"P-please?" Velvet asked, her voice trembling, but refusing to budge. If she was a lesser bunny-girl, she would have hopped away on the spot. But, as according to a famous director that she couldn't remember the name of, actors should be corralled like cattle. When Velvet was in director mode, then she was in the game as much as possible. She was so deep in it, whoever pulled her out would be declared king and/or queen.

It looked like Weiss was ready to explode. Like an ice-capped mountain that was once an active volcano. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT—"

"Weiss! I got you a biscotti!" Ruby suddenly piped up. The feuding heiress and rabbit Faunus looked around in shock, before setting their gazes on Ruby. Velvet silently thanked any god that was listening for sending Ruby as a distraction. Now she wouldn't have to deal with a temperamental actress for now.

Weiss briefly looked like she was going to scold Ruby. Her scowl dropped. And think it got picked right back up again, with a raised index finger to boot. But, those dropped again, and Weiss' shoulders slumped. It was like she couldn't beat Ruby at whatever game she was playing (if there was even a game at all). Snatching the baked treat from her girlfriend's hand, Weiss undid the wrapper. "Thanks, Ruby," she mumbled, right before taking a bite out of the biscotti.

Super speed sure had it's advantages, not just for the user.

Velvet made her escape over to the rest of her actors, while Weiss was still distracted with the biscotti and Ruby. She would corral her later. Right now, she needed to talk to the rest of her flock. Or herd. Velvet didn't' know the proper cattle term. She wasn't a rancher or anything like that.

Putting on her best smile, Velvet clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay everyone! Are you excited!" She then made a little victory gesture for emphasis.

"Heck yeah!" Nora piped up, pumping her fist into the air.

Ren immediately brought his partner's hand down. "I'd say that we're prepared."

Blake barely grunted over the ebook she was reading on her scoll.

"I'm ready to help in any way I can!" Pyrrha replied in her normal, chipper tone. She even threw in a winner's smile. Just what Velvet liked to see. Now that's some real talent, finely honed from years of acting and practice!

Velvet grinned. "Well, I'll be sure to give one-hundred percent for you guys too! We're a team here!"

"A real film crew!" Nora added.

"Right," Pyrrha said, before looking slightly confused. "Uh, where's the film crew, anyway?"

That made Velvet pause. Her team was supposed to be on their way. But how could she be so sure? Maybe they had trouble hauling the equipment. Or, maybe they couldn't get the stuff from the rental guys so easily. Or… maybe they were hurt! Oh god, where they dead?!

" _Calm down, one, two, three. Don't think that, one, two, three. They're fine, one, two, three._ " Velvet tried to calmly think. She hoped that counting down would help. She'd heard about that before. Maybe she should go see a therapist for her paranoia… Nah.

Forcing a smile, Velvet smoothly replied, "They're bringing it over now. Don't worry about that."

"Well, that's good," Pyrrha replied, cautiously. Velvet got the feeling that her actress wasn't entirely convinced, but she didn't let that bother her. This shoot would work, damn it!

With a curt nod, Velvet left her group of actors to their business. She tried her hardest to restrain herself from checking her scroll for the time. She had to believe in her friends. Sure, Fox was… visually disadvantaged, Coco was a tad aloof, and Yatsu sometimes had trouble fitting through doors, but Velvet still believed that they could get here with the film supplies. She didn't have much of a reason not to believe in them. But still… Velvet couldn't still shake a small about of paranoia away from the back of her mind. Yeah, maybe seeing a shrink about her fears might be a good idea…

The rabbit-director paced her way down the aisle, and out the theater doors. She didn't need to be in there right now. Her set up crew could handle everything that could be possibly done. Right now, the director needed to make sure that her supplies got to the place they needed to be. Which mean right here, preferably right freakin' now.

" _Onetwothreeonetwothreeeonetwothree…_ " paced Velvet's thoughts. She was really tempted to bite her nails. She hadn't done that in a while, ever since the last big test she had taken. God damn, why was she so nervous about this? Was it because she didn't want to fail this big responsibility, handed down by Professor Ozpin himself? Was it that she didn't want to let down the school? Or was it the selfish fact that this was _her_ project, and _she_ needed to make this film to show off her directorial talents as a serious film maker, with a serious topic as well?

Even though Velvet didn't want to admit it to herself, it was probably the latest option. After all, when it came down to it, most people put their own goals behind more lofty ideals. It wasn't anything to be too ashamed about. After all, how else had civilization survived this far? It wasn't because people wanted to devote their lives to order and stability. It was because people were scared shitless about what would happen without it. In Remnant's case, it was because the alternative was being eaten alive by the hordes of darkness that waited for them outside the safety of cities, of civilizations. So, if anything, being selfish wasn't a thing to be afraid of. It was just something to accept about people. A fact of life. People were usually selfish and greedy, and that was just the state of everyone, whether they be Human or Faunus. And it was nothing to be afraid of or angry at.

Velvet gave into her temptation, and checked the time on her scroll. It hadn't been all that long since she had arrived at the theater. But, it had been a little bit since she had sent the rest of Team CFVY to get all the filming gear.

Sighing, Velvet leaned against the wall. Damn it, this was taking too long! They were delaying her—wait, the school's project! They needed to get here! People were riding on the success of this commercial! Like the whole Faunus community! Like every oppressed race! The very people that would be wowed and dazzled by her work!

 _Squeak, squeak_

Velvet's rabbit ears picked up the sound of a squeaking wheel around the corner. Thank goodness she had good hearing. At least that was a benefit of being a Faunus.

Turning her head in the direction of the noise, Velvet looked expectantly at the corner of the hallway.

The little rabbit girl's heart leapt a little as she saw a cart round the corner, heaving a large lead of large plastic cases. And who else would be pushing the cart but Yatsu, with Coco and Fox flanking him? Nobody else, that's who. It was just the people that Velvet needed!

"Hey! You guys!" Velvet squeaked in excitement. Yay! The cavalry had just charged over the hill for her!

"Sorry we're a bit late…" Yatsu apologized.

"Yeah," Coco cut in. "The delivery guy had a hard time finding a place to unload his stuff in the parking lot. Someone parked their motorcycle in the truck space."

"How rude. I mean, who does that?" Fox ranted. "It's like parking in a handicap spot!"

"…I think I've seen that motorcycle in those spaces before…" quietly noted Yatsu.

"Eh. It is what it is. But hey, we're here now." Coco said waving away those complaints. Then, tilting down her shades, she looked at Velvet with a serious, business-like gaze. "So… you got something sweet for us?"

"The payment?" clarified Velvet.

"Right. Any goodies?"

"Well," Velvet explained, "Ozpin said he'd add some funds to our accounts. Enough for books. Th-that's enough, right?"

Pushing her glasses back up, Coco grinned. "Yeah! Any lien is good lien, right?"

"I can always use more," Fox said, greedily rubbing his fingers together. Yatsu simply gave a small shrug.

"Thanks for getting us that, by the way," Coco quickly thanked Velvet before giving her a pat on the back. "We'll have some fun with that. Hey, tell you what. Ever been to a dance club?"

"I… uhhh…" Velvet croaked out. She had never really considered doing something like that with her team.

Before Velvet could give an answer to Coco's question, the fashionista let out a small chuckle and walked past the theater doors. She held the door open as Fox and Yatsu guided the cart through the doorway. Yatsu had to duck an inch to clear the top of the doors. Before Velvet knew it, everything she needed was in the theater, as easy as pie. It was like all the pressure was relieved in an instant.

Yes, now was the time to get ready. Velvet smiled to herself.

Now it was time to shoot the shit out of this commercial.

 **xxx**

 **I'll be the first to admit that I'm a greedy shit. After all, the secondary reason I started writing fan fiction was for the internet cred, in addition to honing my writing skills. And I think I earned at least some of it. After all, I work hard for it… I think. Of course I would think that. But hey, as long as I know that I'm a little greedy, I can at least make it worth something. Something that's worth sharing with other people. So, with that moral out of the way, be sure to tell me about how much you hate me for being selfish in the reviews or whatever. Do what you will. I'll read them regardless of content.**

 **This is The Draigg, and I'm out of here for now!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Hardcore Thespian Action

 **Fun fact: writing is tiring. In fact, I'm writing this chapter immediately after making a round trip from Central California to San Francisco and back. All in one day. Sure, I'm tired, but I'm writing for you guys anyway. Because I care about delivering you fine readers some fine product. Hey, if I'm going to be a selfish bastard when it comes to reasons for writing, then I'm going to be a selfish bastard with a heart of gold. Now, let's get to this chapter before I pass out on my bed for the night.**

 **xxx**

A few moments later…

"Okay, so what's my motivation here?" Weiss tiredly sighed.

Glancing up from her script, the heiress glared at Velvet through her sunglasses. Right now, she was just plain tired. After her stash of coffee somehow "disappeared" yesterday, the sheer dull pain she was experiencing pretty much ruined her day. So much for that whole "hair of the dog that bit you" crap. At this rate, Weiss would need the entire damn pack.

And now, here she was on a Monday afternoon, about to be filmed saying lines that painted her as a vile racist, by people that Velvet didn't even bother properly introducing. All Weiss got out of her was a few quickly mumbled names, not even pointing out who was who. So yeah, the Schnee girl wasn't exactly crapping out sunshine and rainbows. She was all out of shits to give anymore. Her colon wallet was completely empty.

Weiss inwardly groaned as Velvet pulled on her fake glasses and adjusted them by the bridge. What a try-hard.

"Okay, so, I want you to sound like you've reformed. Like some kind of ex-prisoner. As if racism was a crime, but you found god and repented. It's like you're seeing the light coming through the clouds. Okay?" Velvet explained in an overblown way. She was milking the imaginary cow too much for her own good.

Weiss rolled her eyes behind her designer shades. "Yeah. Right," she mumbled.

Velvet spun on her heel and faced the girl with the beret behind the camera. "You ready, Coco?" Velvet asked. Coco gave a quick thumbs up before focusing her attention on the camera controls.

"Yatsu?" Velvet then asked the tall Easterner holding the boom microphone.

"I'm ready," Yatsu quietly replied.

"Alright Fox, we're ready!" Velvet finally called, stepping out of frame.

The dark-skinned man sitting on the large plastic crates to the side called out, "Beacon commercial, Weiss scene, take one!"

"Action!" Velvet cried.

Weiss groaned and took off her shades. Placing them into her pocket, she took a quick glance at the rather bland olive-green curtains being used as a backdrop. Not exactly what she would have picked. And, as she straightened out her normal dress, she thought that she would have picked out some kind of costume, personally. Her dress and bolero jacket didn't really match with her surroundings.

"When I first started at Beacon, I was a filthy racist. But now, my best friends are Faunus people…" Weiss recited, nearly lifelessly. She was almost as bland sounding as Ren was on a normal day. And for anyone else other than Ren, that was quite the statement.

"Alright, cut," Velvet ordered to Coco, before taking a step forward.

Weiss rolled her eyes as Velvet placed her hands on her shoulders, in a blatant attempt to try and level with her.

"Okay, Weiss. I know you can do this," Velvet began. "You know your character. You know that this almost… almost like your redemption! A new start! So, on this take, I want you to feel it, alright? I know you can!"

Bouncing back behind the camera, Velvet gave Weiss a grin and a thumbs-up gesture. Weis simply give it any positive thought, if any thought at all.

"Fox?" Velvet verbally motioned.

Fox stopped picking at his cuticles. "Er, right. Beacon commercial, Weiss scene, take two," he said, right before getting back to his previous distraction.

"Annnnddddd… Action!" cried Velvet.

"Ughh… When I first started Beacon Academy, I was a racist. But now, I'm friends with Faunus people," recited Weiss, even worse than before. Her performance was even flatter than her chest.

Velvet and Coco shared a glance. Making a "keep on filming" motion, Velvet looked slightly worried at Coco. Coco simply gave a small sneer and a half-hearted shrug.

"Uhh... Weiss? We're just gonna keep it rolling. So, uh, just start your lines over when you're ready," Velvet instructed. She adjusted her smart-looking glasses with a slightly shaky hand.

"Sure," Weiss bluntly replied, before steadying herself for another line read. Her spine crackled as she stretched her back and shoulders. Not that it helped all that much, of course. Weiss was so far fallen of the wagon that it would at least take several hot baths and oil rubs to even start to feel better. Damn her coffee issues.

Weiss, taking her sweet time, began to say her line over again.

 **xxx**

To show all of Weiss' failed takes would be like checking the inventory of a factory that made nothing but beige-colored paint made out of semen. In other words, very repetitive and terrible. But, the main difference was that one was terrible to look at and have around in general, and the other one was paint.

So, in the spirit of brevity and semen-based wall decoration, many, many, many of the attempts at filming Weiss' commercial scene will be skipped. It's not like much would have been missed, anyway. It wasn't as if anyone was losing it terribly.

 **xxx**

At least an hour and a half later…

Velvet couldn't help but chew at her fingernails anymore. She felt like she was completely losing it. Was she crazy? How in the Xibalba could all of this have not improved after all this time?!

It was like Weiss was deliberately trying to scuttle this whole project. And, due to Velvet's increasing paranoia and stress, that was seeming more and more likely in her mind. Oh, so Weiss wanted to play a little game, eh? Well, Velvet could play too, damn it!

"Okay, cut!" Velvet barked. She had just cut off Weiss in the middle of another flat delivery. "Just cut!"

Without even taking a moment to pause, Velvet strode right up to Weiss, getting up in her face. "Okay, what is this?" Velvet hissed. Now that was a rare thing to bear witness to. That got everyone's attention. "Are you just trying to bring this down? Are you?"

Weiss, still in a bad mood, didn't take such talk directed at her lightly. "Oh, what? You're not getting your way, and you're blaming _me_? It isn't even good!" she bitterly spat at the bunny girl.

That made Velvet take a step back. Now, Velvet was normally a very meek person. But, this… This… This was unforgiveable! Inconceivable! This was her big chance! And it was going to be ruined already by one prima donna actress! Weiss needed to get off her high horse and read the lines exactly as they were written, in the way that Velvet wanted!

Velvet's fingers twitched. They badly wanted to curl up into a closed fist. Instead, Velvet decided to place her hands firmly on Weiss' shoulders. "Weiss, please. I need you to work with me here. _It's been an hour_. We've got other things to film. So, I'm not asking, I'm _ordering_ you to do better this time around. Okay?". She punctuated her talk with a small shake of Weiss's shoulders.

However, all this did was make Weiss pissier. "Well, maybe if _someone_ gave me actual material to work with, then I'd get the job done! I want lines, not trash!"

"Trash? T-trash?!" Velvet sputtered. Her script wasn't anything of the sort! It was carefully crafted along the guidelines of all the research she did! She didn't watch all those commercials on DustTube for nothing! "I wrote that to be the best commercial ever! Just read the lines!"

"If that's your best, then no wonder your PSA failed," Weiss sneered.

That made everyone stop. Now that was a grave insult. Not to mention a bad memory that filled everyone with either vague or direct feelings of regret and suffering. That sexual safety/abstinence PSA was a sore spot for practically the entire Beacon Academy student body. And for some of the teachers as well.

Ruby stepped onto the stage. "Uh, okay Weiss. I think th-that's enough now," she said, tugging at her girlfriend's sleeve. She needed to stop this fight. There was no way this was going to end up well.

"I'm so sick of this! Velvet needs to—" Weiss began to say, before being stopped in the oldest way possible. The cracking noise of the slap traveled all the way around the silent theater.

Velvet couldn't help but shake her hand from the pain of slapping Weiss' face hard. But, she couldn't help herself. Weiss had gone too far. In Velvet's mind, what she just did was completely justified. That slap felt good to do. Even now, her palm had left a large red mark on the side of Weiss' face.

The Schnee heiress looked absolutely flabbergasted. She was almost quite literally dumb-struck. What had just happened? Did Velvet, the meek, often bullied Faunus girl, just slap her? Just… This was all very new and different to Weiss. It was completely safe to say that nobody saw that one coming, Weiss most of all.

"You… You…" Weiss stammered in a daze. Then, as if a flip was switched on, an angry fire entered her eyes. "You BITCH!" she cried, before trying to lunge in the direction of Velvet.

However, Weiss' trajectory was thankfully stopped by Ruby desperately holding her girlfriend back. "Stop it! Stop it, please!" Ruby desperately pleaded. By now, some of the others had sprung into action. Blake and Yang jumped in to join Ruby in holding back the furious Weiss. Otherwise, Velvet was going to be nothing more than a red stain on the floor.

"Velvs, what the shit?!" Coco finally got around to exclaiming. Even she couldn't help but notice how extremely out of character her friend/teammate had acted.

Spinning on her heel, Velvet began to frantically fume to her team and the on looking Team JNPR watching from the theater seats. "I-I had to do it! She was acting out! She… Weiss deserved it! She deserved it!"

"Velvet, stop!" scorned Yang. "You really aren't helping!"

"Let me get her! I'LL CLAW OUT HER EYES!" Weiss furiously screeched, before having one of Blake's hands clamp over her mouth.

"C'mon, let's get her out of here," Ruby ordered swiftly.

It took most of the strength of the combined Team RBY to pick up and carry a furiously struggling Weiss Schnee. She thrashed and fought against her being carried away all the way down the stage, and out the doors of the theater.

The theater once again feel silent. Then, it was broken by Jaune walking up onto the stage. He couldn't help but keep his head slightly low as he walked up to the head of his club. "Hey, Velvet? I can't say that was a good thing to do. Like, it wasn't great. At all," he protested.

"You saw what she said to me. It was rude and unneeded here!" Velvet cried in her own defense.

"Still…" Jaune said, "A-as your assistant, I gotta say that you can't do that. It doesn't help anybody."

"I agree, it isn't right," Pyrrha said from the theater seats, offering her support to Jaune.

Velvet felt her adrenaline rush start to ebb away. Her hands relaxed. By now, the implications of what she had done had started to sink in. Man, this wasn't good. She had driven off an important actor. Now, that part of her commercial was in jeopardy. How would she be able to do that part now? Velvet felt that she had screwed the proverbial pooch on that one.

"O-oooh. Oh no…" Velvet trailed off, stumbling over to a plastic crate to sit down on. She began to vigorously shake one of her legs. This nervous energy wasn't good at all. She needed to get rid of all of it.

Everyone waited for a response from Velvet, who was busy taking a few deep breaths to calm down.

After a minute of calm breathing, Velvet finally apologized. However, she couldn't bring herself to raise her head. "I'm so, so sorry about that. It w-wasn't fair to you guys. I swear that I w-won't do that again."

"Seriously, Velvet," Fox scolded. "That wasn't cool. At all."

"Right," Yatsu quietly agreed. Ren agreed with him even quieter, giving him an approving nod from his theater chair.

"I really ruined this shoot, didn't I?" Velvet noted, mostly to herself. Looking up, she tiredly announced, "I think shooting is done for today."

That got a few nods of approval. Today just wasn't a good day. As the members of Team JNPR said their goodbyes and made their way out of the theater, Team CFY began to pack up the camera and sound equipment.

"So… Velvs. Do you want to go get a drink? Maybe calm down a little bit?" Coco offered, treading a bit carefully. She had to, if she was going to get her and her whole team through this situation.

"No… no thanks," replied Velvet. "I… I think I'm going to hand back for a bit. E-edit the script…"

"Okay, that's fine," Coco said softly.

"Will we expect you back at the dorm?" Yatsu added.

"I… Later," Velvet muttered.

"Just get back safely," said Yatsu.

At that, the equipment was stored in the plastic crates on the cart. They didn't want to have Velvet move from the one she was sitting on, so they managed to squeeze all the electronics in the remaining crates.

Fox was the first to leave, slowly pushing the cart down the large walkway down the middle of the theater. He couldn't help but wonder if Velvet was going to follow them as soon as they left. Coco followed suit, but not before patting a comforting hand on Velvet's shoulder. Yatsu was the last to leave, giving his rabbit teammate one last look before leaving through the double doors. All of them were pretty concerned for her.

Soon enough, Velvet, the shaky director, was left alone in the Beacon Academy Theater. No, she wasn't a director now. Her crew was gone. All Velvet was now was a worried and frustrated girl, sitting all alone on a plastic box in an empty room. The spotlights shone on her as she continued to sit there, alone in her thoughts.

That was probably the only mercy that was afforded to Velvet that day.

 **xxx**

 **That's… a note to end this chapter on. Well, all we can do now is wait and see how this is going to play out for the whole film crew. But, one thing can be said for certain. This isn't even the beginning of the end. Not even close. So, until then, let's just hold out. That's probably for the best.**

 **This is The Draigg, and I'm signing off for now.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Chance To Start Anew?

 **Hey, The Draigg here. I'm proud to announce that I'm currently stopping this story thread, in favor of one I feel my fans may enjoy better. I'm going to focus on my OC, Dante D'Arkness D'Raigg Twilight, the half-Faunus brother of Weiss Schnee. He's so cool with all of his red and black clothes and his totally original weapon, the Burial Crescent, a new scythe that's more powerful than Ruby's scythe in every way. Watch him seduce all of the members of Team RWBY (Weiss included) and defeat the villains easily, including my OC villains, the Army of the Southern Cross, because he's so cool. I swear, he's not a wish-fulfillment character. OC donut steel plz.**

 **xxx**

Wednesday was the next scheduled shooting date. And, because of Velvet's antics on Monday, it wasn't a day that many of the crew were looking forward to. They were almost completely afraid of what might possibly happen next.

Velvet herself took it upon herself to retrieve the film supplies from the storage room herself and set up early. By now, she felt that she needed to atone for something. Today was the day that she was going to make up losing a cast member. But, since there was no chance in Hell that Weis was coming back (the glares from her all day Tuesday confirmed that), it was going to be a little tricky to write around her absence. Oh well. Velvet was going to cross that bridge when she came to it. She had other scenes that she needed to shoot.

" _Okay, so I may or may not have messed up. But… I can make this work. I can really make this work. I'm a director, I'm a writer. I'm brilliant at those. I need to make this for everyone. I WILL make this for everyone_ ". That pep-talk kept on playing over and over again as Velvet worked on setting up the backdrop. This was a little harder than she thought it would be. In hindsight, she was glad that she normally had people to do this for her. But, repentance was repentance.

Besides, the people who Velvet was trying to make it up to would appreciate it.

Behind Velvet, the theater doors opened. "Velvet?" a voice called out. Turning her head towards the door, Velvet saw Coco coming through the door, followed by Yatsu and Fox. "Yeah, she's here," Coco said for Fox's benefit.

"Hey, where the hell were you?" Fox fumed. You just disappeared outta nowhere! I mean, you kinda do that already, but this time we were worried!"

"Calm down, Fox," cautioned Yatsu. Speaking a little louder for Vevlet, she then explained, "We thought that Weiss was going to hurt you."

"Seriously, that chick is crazy mad," Coco added.

Velvet figured as much. There was a look of pure murder in Weiss' eyes every time the heiress looked at her. It was a good thing that they sat far from each other in the classes they shared, otherwise Velvet knew that Weis would make her life hell. She didn't even want to think about the pain that the pissed-off Schnee girl would inflict on her. But, she bet that it involved dust crystals in uncomfortable places. Now that was a scary thought.

"Well, don't worry, I'm fine," Velvet said, putting the finishing touches on the backdrop. She then turned and faced her team, a small smile on her face. "Plus, I decided to give you guys a free one". At that, she gestured towards the set up camera equipment and background.

"Thanks, Velvet," Yatsu politely said. "But still, let us know when you do something like this again."

Velvet hopped off the stage and greeted her teammates at the end of the aisle. "Right. Sorry."

The theater grew awkwardly quiet, as nobody really had any idea on how to continue their conversation. It just sort of ran out of gas.

"So…" Fox began, trying to cure the weird atmosphere. "What do we do while we wait for the others? Fight? Gossip? Bone?"

"Great suggestions, Fox," Coco snarked. "Because we totally came here for the hardcore sex that we all deserve. Right, Velvs?"

Coco glanced at Velvet. She noticed that her teammate was now as red as a beet. Apparently, Velvet did actually put some thought into Fox's last suggestion. Man, Velvet needed to get laid. Desperately. All of her "private time" and anxiety about sex couldn't be good for her at all.

Regardless, Coco couldn't help but smirk at Velvet's embarrassment. "Heh. Atta girl, Vevlet," she chuckled. Turning to her two male teammates, Coco then added, "Although… You two together would be quite the sight… Heheh…"

That comment made Fox's brow slightly furl and Yatsu to take a small step away from Fox. "I don't think I'd be interested," flatly stated Yatsu.

Fox crossed his arms and huffed. "Hey, I'm no peter-puffer. You of all people should know," he defensively grunted.

"Ooh, did that touch a nerve?" teased Coco. Now this was a good way to spend her time waiting. "I bet you're thinking of Yatsu's _long, meaty, thick shaf_ —"

"Okay, okay!" interrupted Velvet. "Can we please not talk about… t-that sort of thing here?". Of course, she didn't want it to stop that talk because of basic decency. It was more like that it was making her think of her collection of yaoi manga, and that might lead her to do some… lewd and indecent things if she managed to slip away from the theater for a bit.

"Heh," Coco snorted. "I guess we can save that for later, then."

"Thank goodness…" Yatsu muttered under his normal volume. Meaning that it was practically inaudible. But, at least he was thankful that his lady teammates stopped thinking of him involved with another man. Sure, it was a common practice with his ancestors long ago, but times had changed. He wasn't the one to lie with another male warrior, regardless of who he was descended from.

Having exhausted some of her more fun material, Coco strode over to a theater seat and plopped down into it. Crossing her legs, Coco stretched and relaxed. "Well, let me know when the others show up. I'm going to meditate," she told everyone. At that, she closed her eyes lightly.

"Uh, it won't be long before they're here," Velvet pointed out.

"Whatever. Just get me up then," Coco replied, folding her arms behind her head.

"That isn't meditatin—" Yatsu protested, before being interrupted.

Coco shushed her Eastern teammate. "Shhhh… No talk now. Only dreams."

It didn't take long for Coco to fall asleep. She needed her beauty rest, after all. How else had she managed to look that beautiful? Well, other than the factory's worth of skin creams and clothes that someone like Weiss would immediately recognize as expensive. Sure, those were definitely important. But, the point was that sleep was crucial to Coco's beauty.

Gently, Coco drifted off to the dream land of marshmallows and unicorns…

 **xxx**

If one were to look into the dreams of one Coco Adell, they would see some pretty interesting and nonsensical things. Like, a door that needed to be opened by a zipper, yet needed to have a padlock on it. Or, hot, sweaty cowboys wrangling gummi worms with lassos made of hopes and dreams. And, as unbelievable as it sounds, ten percent discounts at a high-class clothing establishment. It certainly is hard to believe that one.

But, considering that none of that has any bearing on the current story whatsoever, the dreams and fantasies of the huntress girl named Coco will be skipped. It's not like an observer would miss much. Coco was only asleep for about twenty or so minutes. That's not nearly enough time to get to the really interesting parts.

And so, we resume our narrative around when the rest of the cast arrives at the theater.

 **xxx**

"Hey, wake up! They're here," Fox said, hitting Coco lightly on the shoulder. That jostled Coco out of her afternoon nap.

With slightly groggy eyes, she saw Teams RBY and JNPR hanging out around the stage, chatting about what they needed to do that day. Then, Coco's gaze drifted down to her watch. Ah, so they didn't take all that long to arrive after all. Well, it was time for Coco to put on her normal attitude, then. She was refreshed enough to go for it.

With an exaggerated groan, Coco shuddered and began to rub the spot where Fox had tapped her. "Oooouch… I'm afraid I'm mortally wounded, Fox. You've… you've killed me…" she playfully teased.

Fox couldn't help but smirk at the tone of Coco's voice. "If I killed you, I'd be doing the world a favor," he commented. "There'd be more coconut skin cream for everyone."

Coco stood up out of the theater chair and stretched. She could hear her spine crackle as it popped back into the right place. "Can't deny that one," she admitted, right before yawning. Alright, now it was time to get down to business.

Strolling up onto the stage, Coco joined Velvet near the camera set-up. "So, what're we filming today, Velvs?" she asked.

Velvet pondered for a moment, and then replied, "The Pyrrha part. That'll be our celebrity endorsement."

"Sounds like a plan, boss-lady," Coco said, hints of sleep still hanging onto the corners of her voice. Maybe another small nap would be nice…

"Pyrrha! Come up here, please," Velvet called out to her actress. Pyrrha, obliging immediately, walked up onto the stage and stooped in front of the backdrop.

"Are you ready to film me?" asked Pyrrha, flashing her famous winner's smile.

'Yes, we are," Velvet replied. "Do you have your lines memorized?"

"I do," nodded Pyrrha.

"Excellent! Now get into place, and we'll start filming," Velvet said. At that, she then gestured for Yatus to get the boom microphone ready, and for Coco to prepare to start filming "Quiet on the set, please!"

On her cue, the assembled film crew grew quiet. Velvet gave Fox a slight nudge. Perking up, he said the appropriate version of the camera call. "Beacon Commercial, Pyrrha scene, take one."

"And… Action!" Velvet cried, signaling to Coco to start recording.

"I came to Beacon Academy to make the most of my education! And I'm glad I chose it!" Pyrrha recited. She then flashed her signature smile, which normally graced everything from cereal to maxi-pads. That smile was worth three times its weight in gold.

Velvet made a cut-off gesture at Coco. Not even waiting for conformation that she had stopped rolling, Velvet immediately walked up to Pyrrha. "Oh my gosh, that was GREAT!" she gushed, cupping Pyrrha's hands in her own.

Pyrrha blushed slightly from the contact. For some reason, Velvet was holding her hands a little longer than most people would. "Why thank you," was her modest response. Pyrrha had heard so many commercial directors and photographers gush over her endorsement skills that she was a bit used to politely thanking them about it.

All of a sudden, Velvet dropped Pyrrha's hands. There was a different look in her eyes now. Where before her eyes were filled with amazement, now they were filled with something that resembled… contemplation? Analysis? Something along those lines.

Never the less, it took Pyrrha by surprise that Velvet took hold of her face and began to move it around, as if she was looking for something. All Pyrrha could do was arch her eyebrows in confusion and bewilderment. From what she could tell, even the camera crew made of Team CFY was equally as stricken with confusion.

"But… we can do better. Much better," Velvet muttered to herself, before taking a few steps back.

"…Huh?" was all Pyrrha could say in her confusion. Did she do something wrong? She gave her normal routine that she used for advertisements. Did she make some mistake that she just didn't notice? It was hard to tell for her.

"We're doing another take!" Velvet announced to her crew. Coco shot a small look at Yatsu, who simply shrugged in response. None of them had any idea of what was going on in Velvet's head. To them, the bit that Pyrrha just did was flawless.

"Fox, give the call," directed Velvet. All the while, she was making quick hand gestures to Pyrrha that she couldn't figure out. Was Velvet trying to tell her to move back, or start jogging?

Before Pyrrha had any time to think about the implications of that, she heard Fox call out the next shot. "Uh, Beacon commercial, Pyrrha, take two."

None of the crew had any idea of what Velvet wanted. And, much scarier than that, they didn't know how long and far Velvet was going to go in order to get what she was looking for. As of that moment, the shoot was flying blind.

Oh, bollocks.

 **xxx**

 **Wait, that wasn't my super original story about the best character in RWBY, even though he's not in the show? And it wasn't the action driven, ultra-violent gore and sex-fest that it was supposed to be. My Velvet story is up there instead? Well… shoot. I guess I have to continue this story thread, then. But trust me, you're really missing out on a plot that totally wasn't an ugly monster of a story, made of several different plagiarized anime plots and character clichés. Totally serious. I'm so serious about this, that I'm going to keep on writing Commercial Success, just so that you know what you missed out on. You poor bastards.**

 **This is The Draigg, and I'm signing of to work on my OC (do not steal)!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: An Exercise In Mental Breakdowns

 **I think that there's one universal fact about comedy: it almost always comes at someone's or something's expense. It's like an equivalent exchange of cruelty against your fellow man. Now, I'm not saying that comedy is an excuse to become a sociopath. What I'm saying is that we need to accept that comedy can be allowed to be a little cruel sometimes. Even small pranks, like putting chili in a friend's drink, come at an expense, no matter how small and petty it can be. But, if you've been following what I write, then you should pretty much know that fact by now. Believe me, it's okay to laugh. But hey, that's my opinion, it's not the all-knowing gospel of writing. Maybe with this chapter, you'll disagree with that statement. Who's really to say?**

 **xxx**

Pyrrha, as one of Remnant's top, young athletes, had plenty of experience in appearing in advertisements and commercials. From lemon-scented hand wipes to orange-kiwi juice, Pyrrha had hawked it all. If anything, having her image being used in an ad was almost second nature.

But this… This was a different beast. An unknown, obscure beast.

And it had adorable rabbit ears.

For nearly the past three hours, it seemed like Velvet had been replaced by some sort of pod-person clone, who was completely obsessed with getting the perfect take. And, in addition to that, nobody had any clue what the hell Velvet was looking for.

It didn't surprise Pyrrha all that much when Team RBY completely zoned out, none of them paying any attention at all. Yang and Ruby were on their scrolls, and Blake had gone off to a corner to the theater to read a book that she had brought along. It wasn't like there was anything for them to do at the moment. And as for Nora and Ren, they had disappeared about forty-five or so minutes ago. More likely than not, Nora had run off somewhere, and Ren followed in concerned pursuit. It was almost like an old vaudeville routine. And an unfortunately routine… routine, at that.

Pyrrha was ripped out of her thoughts suddenly, by Velvet telling her to get ready for another take.

"Pyrrha! Position, please!" Velvet cried.

Signing at her burden, Pyrrha moved over to the side an inch. She hadn't even moved off of her place marker. But, if Velvet told her to move into position, it was for the best not to fight her on that. Might as well take the easy way out and make it look like she moved a little bit.

"Fox! Call it!" ordered Velvet. She then leaned behind Coco, wanting to see the shot from the camera's perspective. Apparently she didn't care about or notice Coco's slight discomfort at Velvet's positioning. Velvet placing her hands on Coco's shoulders didn't help either.

Fox's voice was worn, and just about as lifeless as Weiss' performance the other day. "Beacon commercial… Pyrrha… Take… oh, fuck it…"

Velvet didn't pay any mind to Fox's lack of caring. Instead, she shrieked, "Action!"

"I came to Beacon Academy to make the most of my education! And I'm glad I chose it!" Pyrrha repeated for the umpteenth time, forcing a smile at the end. It was through sheer professionalism that Pyrrha was able to keep up the quality of her performances. But, being honest to herself, she didn't know how much she had left in her. Someone needed to step in already. It was at times like this that Pyrrha cursed Jaune's natural social anxiety. He needed to do something. He was Velvet's assistant, after all.

As Coco stopped recording, Velvet walked forwards towards Pyrrha. Taking out her professional glasses, Velvet pushed them up to the bridge of her nose with her middle finger. Then, she began to inspect Pyrrha, as if she was trying to appraise a fine sculpture—no scratch that. The way Velvet looked at Pyrrha, it was like she was inspecting a slab of meat at the slaughterhouse, seeing if it was fit for sale.

"Another," Velvet finally muttered, walking back towards the camera and sound equipment.

Pyrrha felt the corners of her mouth twitch. Somewhere deep inside her, hairline cracks were finally starting to appear. For someone like Pyrrha, to took a long time for her to crack. But, that didn't mean that it wasn't possible. This miserable exercise just needed to END.

Standing behind Coco again, Velvet put her hands on her hips. Her demeanor had gone so far from her normal, meek state. By now, it had been replaced by something almost in-Faunus, and coolly demanding.

"Call it, Fox!" Velvet shrieked. Yatsu and Coco tiredly got their equipment ready behind her.

Fox was feeling sleep tinge the crevasses of his body. Sitting around for a while would do that to a person, after all. "Beacon ad, Pyrrha, take whatever," he muttered quickly.

Now it was time for Velvet's oft-repeated cue. "Go! Action!"

"I came to Beacon Academy to make the most of my education! And I'm glad I chose it!". Pyrrha could barely even bring herself to smile that time.

Velvet didn't even bother to inspect Pyrrha again. "We can't use that take. Next!"

That was it.

All the bad memories of when Pyrrha worked on other ads came flooding back to her. All the repeated takes. All the fake smiles. All the feelings that she was just a tool for cheap good to be shilled at for children. It all came back. And Pyrrha absolutely detested that feeling.

"Wh-what DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Pyrrha shrieked, surprising everyone. "It's been hours! I need food! I need to rest! Just make it stop!"

"We're not done yet!" Velvet yelled back. She furiously adjusted her glasses. "Only you can do this! I _need_ the perfect shot!"

"How many takes? How many takes?!" Pyrrha cried. She sunk to the floor and rested on her knees. Was this her fate? Was this all she was good for? Just to be a face in a commercial for her entire life? Letting out a low wail, Pyrrha then slumped over onto the floor, and curled into a ball. "What do you want from me?! Just tell me what you want! I'll do it! I swear, I'll do it!"

"I told you already! I want a great take! Let's start again!" snapped Velvet. Instead of getting up, Pyrrha just retreaded further inside herself. Those minor cracks had now become deep ravines, in no part helped by Velvet's canned orders.

"Take me to my trailer. I want to go to my trailer…" Pyrrha began to mutter to herself. It was like she was completely gone from the present. She was reliving the worst experiences of her commercial acting career all over again. All she wanted to do now was to get out of there, and to somewhere safe.

Jaune finally took action. Stepping out from his seat at the front of the stage, he immediately went over to his distressed girlfriend's side. Kneeling down, he began to awkwardly pat one of her shoulders, in an attempt to calm her down.

"I think we're done for today," Jaune firmly declared to Velvet.

Velvet grit her teeth beneath her lips. "No! She's _my_ star! You leave her there! She'll leave when she does what I want!"

"What do you even want?!" Jaune yelled back at Velvet. "Nobody deserves this! This is… this is _wrong_. It's not right at all!"

"It's my JOB!" spat back Velvet.

Jaune shot Velvet a venomous glare. Helping Pyrrha to her feet, he firmly said, "Then I don't think I can be your assistant."

That made Velvet briefly step aback, before recovering from that shock. Whipping off her smart-looking glasses, she jabbed them in Jaune and Pyrrha's direction. "Fine! I don't need you! You're not an assistant! You're a QUITTER!"

"Fine by me," Jaune hissed, before leading the dazed and horrified Pyrrha out of the theater. By then, Pyrrha wasn't looking all that great. She practically had to have her hands around Jaune's collar in order to keep walking. It was as if her ability to walk was replaced by her ability to go into hysterics.

Velvet spun around to face the rest of the theater. Everyone on the film crew had a mix of shock and disgust plastered on their faces. "Anyone else?! Anyone else wanna leave?!" Velvet ranted at them.

Ruby immediately stood up from her chair. She gave Velvet a short stare, before sadly shaking her head. Although she seemed somewhat hesitant at first, she made her way down the row of seats and down the main walkway. Casting another brief look at Velvet, Ruby pushed open the theater doors and left.

Following Ruby's example, Yang and Blake followed their team leader out of the theater doors. Unlike their softer-hearted companion, neither of them bothered to look at Velvet as they left. Whether it was out of disappointment or spite, it wasn't clear. What was clear, however, is that all of Team RWBY had wanted nothing to do anymore with the production, or Velvet Scarlatina for that matter.

"Good!" Velvet yelled after them. "I don't need you working on this! I'll write around you! You'll see!"

Then, focusing on her teammates, Velvet hoarsely said, "What about you? Are you going to abandon this too?"

Yatsu was the first one to speak up. Placing down his boom mc, he bluntly said, "Velvet, I can't approve of this. None of this."

"Yeah… I'm done here," Fox added, standing up from the plastic crate. "And I'm done with _you_."

A low growl was caught in Velvet's throat. How dare Fox and Yatsuhashi leave her like this? They were abandoning her in the middle of her dream! HER commercial! They were losers, quitters!

"And you, Coco?!" Velvet then shrieked at her other teammate.

Coco, in one of the rarer moments of her life, was frozen in indecision. Not because she thought that Velvet was right to do any of that, mind you, but she was completely blindsided by her friend's actions outright. Velvet, in all the time that Coco knew her, had NEVER acted like this. It was absolutely out of character for her. Who could have guessed that such a controlling beast lie underneath a shy, meek exterior? Coco had no clue how to deal with this type of situation coming from Velvet. She had no experience to help her in this new territory. All of this was alien to her. And she was supposed to be her team leader, damn it!

"Uh…" Coco vocalized.

"Are you with me, or not?" Vevlet demanded to know.

Coco still appeared to be inn thought. Then, with a click of her cheek, her brows furrowed. She couldn't stand to work in such an unjust production. "You know what? Fuck this ad. I'm not helping you anymore."

That made Velvet's face grow deep red in anger. "F-f-fine! Forget all of you! I can do this on my own! I don't need you! Get out of my sight!" she furiously screamed. She turned away from her teammates with a frustrated huff.

Team CFY shared looks at each other. Even Fox, who couldn't see a damn thing. He just looked in the vague direction of his friends. Coco made a dismissive gesture with her hand, before leading Fox and Yatsu down the steps of the stage.

Velvet didn't even look back as her teammates left her alone, to her own devices.

" _I don't need them! I'll… I'll just write around them! I'll work around them! Whatever it takes, I'll get his commercial done! I can't fail!_ " Velvet thought to herself. But then, she felt something on her cheek.

Touching her face, Velvet's hand came away with something clear and wet on her fingers. " _Tears… Why am I crying? I shouldn't cry…_ " she absently thought.

No matter how much she thought to the contrary, Velvet couldn't stop the small trickle of tears leaving a stain down her face. For the life of her, she had no idea why she was crying. Was she sad that everyone had left? Perhaps. Were they tears of rage, on the fact that her commercial was now impossible to get done? That was just as likely.

Whatever the case may be, Velvet couldn't ignore the fact that she felt something that she didn't like. And that fact just made her sadder. It was a strange thing, for the subconscious to be depressed, and the consciousness to not know why. But, in a way that same thing could happen to anyone.

They just needed to be in that emotional place, in the place where none should willingly go.

Velvet had just arrived.

 **xxx**

 **So… about that monologue at the beginning… I suppose it's up to you to figure out if it was funny, tragic, or both. After all, comedy is just the lighter side of tragedy and drama. Two sides of the proverbial writing coin, if you will. Like I said at the beginning of this chapter, it's not like what I say about a story should apply to your opinions. That's why I like reading yours in the reviews. They're all different, in a great way. So, go ahead, let your opinion be heard!**

 **This is The Driagg, and I'm signing off for now.**


	10. A Note From The Draigg: CANCELLED

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"A Note From The Author/span/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"strongA NOTE TO YOU READERS: I hate to let you guys down, but I'm ditching this story. I can't just find it in me to keep on writing it. It was supposed to be another funny drama for you guys, but I think I made it too mean spirited for my liking. What I tried to make entertaining somehow ended up being just plain cruel and unlikable. I just couldn't finish something that made me feel ugly whenever I wrote more of it. So, consider this story cancelled. Don't worry, this story won't bleed over into anything else I write. Just pretend like none of this happened. Once again, I'm sorry to have let you guys down. I hope that you at least stick around for when I can write something actually funny and engaging, and not something senselessly mean. Please, take this message as a sincere apology from me./strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"strong-The Draigg/strong/p 


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